


Not a Good Look

by angelofthequeers



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is both big dumdum and galaxy brain, Adrigaminette, Alya Césaire Is The Best, Alya sugar, Autistic Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Awesome Nino Lahiffe, Bisexual Kagami Tsurugi, Bisexual Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Kissing, Kwami Swap, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Love Confessions, Marinette is the Guardian, Mouse Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Multi, Nino Sugar, Pansexual Alya Césaire, Pansexual Nino Lahiffe, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Season/Series 03, Romance, Snake Adrien Agreste | Aspik, Snekmouse - Freeform, Vomiting, anyone who hates them can fight me, but not in the usual salt fic way, can't write straight characters to save my life, just the way we love him, marinette and her convoluted plans, miraculous swaps, yeah everyone's queer in this, you expect these two to be functional in any way?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23631466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofthequeers/pseuds/angelofthequeers
Summary: In which Marinette, Adrien, and their friends accidentally stumble on secret identities galore through the implications of a grown man making a deal with a teenage girl.Aka Gabriel's deal with Lila comes back to bite him where it hurts.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Kagami Tsurugi, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 418
Kudos: 1648
Collections: Completed





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

“I swear to god, I can’t take another minute of her!” Adrien runs his fingers through his hair, resisting the urge to yank because his father will most certainly know if he’s missing so much as one hair on his head. ““Oh, Adrien and I work so well together! I’m his father’s new muse!” She doesn’t have a lick of talent for modelling!”

“That’s it,” Marinette says soothingly, for once not stammering like she usually does when he’s within ten feet of her. “Let it all out now, while you can.”

“Why do you even put up with her?” Kagami adds, depositing her fencing bag on the floor of the boys’ locker room so that she can sit next to Adrien on the bench. Marinette sits cross-legged on his other side, face flushing pink when their arms brush together. “Yes, she may be your father’s new “muse”, but you don’t have to tolerate her outside photoshoots.”

“I kind of do,” Adrien says. “Father told me that she’s the only friend he approves of and that he’ll restrict my freedoms if I don’t play nice with her. You know, that’s why I’m having this conversation in a _locker room_ and only because fencing finished early. But it’s not just that; if I don’t put up with her, she’ll go after Marinette again. And after she got Marinette _expelled_ , I’ll be damned if I let anything happen again.”

“ _What_?” Marinette’s eyes bulge. “Adrien, _no_ , this is my fight, you shouldn’t have to let her hang off you and make you uncomfortable for _me_!”

“Yeah. I do.” Adrien turns to grab her hands, wondering why this causes her to squeak and turn the colour of a ripe tomato. “You’re one of my best friends, Marinette. I couldn’t just stand by and let Lila ruin you like that when there was _something_ I could do.”

“But see you don’t?” Marinette shakes her head and tries again. “Don’t you see? You’re rewarding her for it!”

“Marinette’s right,” Kagami says. “She still gets to lie to everyone, but so long as she doesn’t openly twist Marinette into the villain, she gets everything she wants.”

“Well, what else can I do?” Adrien throws his hands in the air. “If I tell her to shove off, she’ll go tattling! She must have, like, some kind of deal going on with my father, because he didn’t even know she existed before the Oni-Chan thing! Sorry,” he hurries to add. Kagami just shrugs, not visibly hurt by his reminder of her second akumatisation.

“Actually…that makes sense,” Marinette says slowly. When Adrien looks around at her, her brow is furrowed and she’s idly stroking her chin with her thumb, and for a split second, she resembles Ladybug so much that the breath is punched out of Adrien’s lungs. Then he blinks and she’s back to full-of-nervous-energy Marinette. “Something must have happened. She has _no_ skill as a model – and I’m not saying that because I hate her – she just doesn’t have the stance and her face is all off and she’s so… _robotic_ about it –”

“I’m definitely not disagreeing with you there,” Adrien chuckles despite himself. How does Marinette always manage to get a smile out of him even when he’s in the foulest of moods?

“Not to mention that there’s clearly no chemistry between you and her,” Marinette adds. “And everyone knows that you have to have chemistry between the models, or the shoot falls flat. Plus, there’s no reason for your father to approve of _her_ but not everyone else. She’s a good liar, yeah, but your father doesn’t seem like someone who takes people at face value, and he _must_ be able to recognise shifty people who are just lying to get ahead and use connections. It makes sense that she could’ve made a deal with him…but what?”

“Probably to spy on me,” Adrien mutters. Then he freezes, and on either side of him, Marinette and Kagami also stiffen.

“Of course,” Kagami says with a derisive snort. “That’s exactly the sort of thing your father would do.”

“But what can we do about it?” Marinette says. “That’s not right! And it doesn’t _look_ right either! A grown man making a deal with a teenage girl for favours?” She wrinkles her nose. “Not a good look.”

“Maybe we can do something about it!” Adrien leaps to his feet and snaps his fingers, addressing his captive audience. “Evidence! We can find evidence that they’ve made a deal!”

“And what do you propose we do with that evidence?” Kagami says. Adrien jabs a finger at her.

“Prove that she’s a shifty snake!” he says. Kagami raises an eyebrow at that. “I know I told Marinette to take the high road, but that was when I thought she was just an attention seeker. You know, typical teenage, ‘ignore her and she’ll go away or realise that she needs to shape up’ brat. But this…she’s _dangerous_ , you two. She got Nathalie and my bodyguard in trouble. She got Marinette _expelled_. And, uh…I was hiding nearby when you were Oni-Chan, Kagami. She deliberately distracted Chat Noir so that Oni-Chan could defeat Ladybug.”

“Well, what’s the plan?” Marinette says, while a dark storm crosses Kagami’s face. Adrien blinks at her.

“Sorry? The plan?”

“You don’t really think we’re going to let you charge off with a half-baked idea by yourself, do you?” Kagami says with a raised eyebrow, still scowling. It makes her look both adorable and terrifying at the same time…but is Adrien even allowed to think that when they’re having a temporary break from their relationship? “Marinette and I are with you, Adrien. What’s the plan to figure out if Lila and your father have made a deal?”

“I…actually didn’t think that far ahead,” Adrien admits. “I don’t know how we could get that evidence. Father would find out for sure if we were sneaking around, and there’s no way I could lead the conversation in that direction. I don’t even see him long enough to ask him how his day was.”

“Hmm.” Marinette chews her bottom lip. For some reason, the sight warms Adrien from the inside out, and he doesn’t realise that he’s physically leaning closer to drink in Marinette until Kagami tilts her head at him and he takes a step back with flushing cheeks. “I think I might have an idea. Leave it with me, okay?”

“Okay. I trust you, Marinette,” Adrien says, and he’s surprised to find just how firmly he believes those words.

* * *

The next day, once the final bell rings, Marinette catches up to Adrien with the single-minded focus of a heat-seeking missile before he can get out the school gates and she loses him. He jerks when she catches his arm, so she lets go with a mumbled apology, but he shakes his head and grabs her hand.

“It’s okay,” he says. “I thought you were Lila.”

“I still shouldn’t have touched you without asking,” Marinette says. Adrien shoots her a sunny smile that nearly makes her faceplant as her knees wobble under its force.

“You never touch me like other girls do,” he says. “You’re never…you know, rough and possessive about it. I like it when you touch me.”

 _“I like it when you touch me.”_ Oh. Oh _dear_. If Marinette hadn’t been about to fall two seconds ago, she’s definitely ready to keel over and die right now.

“Managed Ladybug!” she blurts out, then groans and ducks her head. “I managed. To catch Ladybug. God, I’m a mess.”

Adrien looks around, then mutters, “No Lila. Thank god,” and steers Marinette towards his waiting car. Thankfully, she manages to keep it together as he holds the back door open for her and then slides in after her with an explanation to his bodyguard about a study date with a friend – a _date_ , a study date, but a _date_! – thanks to his cancelled fencing class. Not that his father needs to know that the friend he’s studying with isn’t Kagami or Lila, even if Marinette knows that he uses that term in the loosest possible way regarding the latter.

When Adrien turns to her with a small, hesitant smile that makes her stomach flutter with ladybugs, she opens her mouth to bring up the plan, but her one semi-functioning brain cell realises that it’s probably not a good idea to be spouting ideas of espionage against Gabriel Agreste in front of one of his employees, even if said employee _is_ going behind his employer’s back right now, so she takes a deep breath to both swallow her words and calm herself down.

“Can I ask you something, Marinette?” Adrien says.

“Yure! Shes!” Marinette nods rapidly, then groans. “Sure! Yes!”

Adrien indicates her. “That. The stammering. The nerves. Do I…unsettle or intimidate you?”

“What? No! Of course not!” Well, he _does_ unsettle her, but not for the reasons he thinks!

“Are you sure?” Adrien’s brow furrows. “Did I do something? I know I messed up on my first day and then with the wax museum thing, so if you still have hard feelings or something –”

“Nononono!” Marinette shakes her head so rapidly that her pigtails smack her in the face. “Trust me, I forgave you!”

“Then why are you so nervous around me?” Adrien says. “Is it because I’m Adrien Agreste? I know you want to be a fashion designer, but I swear, being friends with me won’t look like you’re using me or affect your chances –”

“It’s not that either.” Marinette slumps in her seat and closes her eyes, her heart racing so fast that it’s two seconds from beating out of her chest. After all her stress, all her frantic planning and failed attempts, is _this_ how she finally confesses? “I…I l-lo – I can’t do this!” She tries to hide her face in her hands, but Adrien catches her wrists and gives her that sweet smile of his that melts her insides and _is so not helping right now_!

“Is it anything bad?” he says. Marinette wordlessly shakes her head. “Then it’s okay if you can’t tell me. As long as I know you don’t secretly hate me or something…”

“ _IloveyouAdrien_!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> Thanks to Artemaes_Jones, Juliette01, bugabisous (MariaFernanda), phantombullets240, DivineDemonDragon, Bbgirl3191, BenRG, Keyseeker, breathing_and_writing, writingish1210, Read100, Mizu4TheWin, redbird691, Galaxy_Wanderer, Katieykat513, CrazyGalaxyCat, Lexysama, WilhelmAres, miraculousshiper, fabulously_frenzied, Breval, Squidgod and ME4ML for your comments :)

Adrien’s not sure whether Marinette’s garbled confession shuts his brain down or kickstarts it into lightspeed. Marinette…loves him? One of his best friends is in love with him? How could he have never seen it before? All this time, he’s been worried that she’s secretly hated him, but it’s the opposite entirely!

“But the wax statue thing,” is the first thing his mouth blurts out, while his brain still tries to reboot. “You said you didn’t –”

“ _I lied_!” Marinette shrieks in his face. Then she whimpers and curls away from him, just like she’d done that time. “I…you said there was this other girl that you loved, and I didn’t want to get between you and Kagami –”

“Kagami?” Oh. Dear lord. So many things are starting to fall into place. “I like her a lot, Marinette, and we kissed after we got ice cream on the Seine with our friends but, well…I felt like there was something, you know… _missing_. And so did she. So, we agreed to put things on hold until we figure it out, so we didn’t hurt each other by trying to force something. And, um…she wasn’t the girl I was referring to in the car. But what about you? I know you like Luka.”

“Oh. Yeah, Luka’s nice and supportive and super sweet, and I really like him as a friend, but he’s not – he’s never been…”

 _He’s not you. He’s never been you,_ rings loud and clear between them. Marinette looks away, fiddling with one of her pigtails. It breaks Adrien’s heart to see his friend like this, hurting because of him, and if Ladybug wasn’t in the picture – _if only_ Ladybug wasn’t around – then he could fix that pain. He could take her hands and look into her bluebell eyes and let himself love her, because falling for Marinette is as easy as breathing, but Adrien can’t let himself fall for his friend and betray his lady like that. And he especially can’t betray Kagami like that, because he genuinely does love her, but could he pick between these three girls if it came down to it? His love for Ladybug has been longer, lasting through every battle they’ve fought by each other’s sides, but his love for Kagami is like a thunderstorm: wild and fierce, looming on him and then capturing him in an iron grip.

“And I also think Kagami could tell that I, um…I think I’ve always felt something more for you,” he says. Marinette’s head whips around, and her cheeks are dark pink, and her blue eyes are wide, and the sight is just so… _Marinette_. If someone looked up the dictionary definition of beauty, Marinette’s name would be right there next to Ladybug’s, with Kagami filling in a separate definition of her own, because the way in which she’s beautiful is as different to Marinette and Ladybug as night is to day. “I just didn’t realise it until you said…well, I always thought there was this wall between us, and knowing there isn’t – ugh, why is this so hard?”

“It’s okay,” Marinette mumbles, somehow managing to smile despite the way her heart must be breaking just as Adrien’s has done after the times Ladybug’s rejected him. “Really. You should go get that other girl. She’d be so lucky to have you, and I know Kagami would agree.”

“But she’s turned me down before,” Adrien says. “I guess I hoped if I kept trying, she’d eventually say yes. But she told me that there’s another boy, and I don’t want to let her go because I love her, but that’s _why_ I have to let her go. And if she wasn’t around and Kagami didn’t confess first, I think I’d say yes to you. Sorry, I know that’s the last thing you want to hear –”

“No,” says Marinette with shimmering eyes and lips that twitch into a weak attempt at a smile. “Knowing that I did have a chance somehow makes it hurt less than knowing I had no chance at all. That other girl doesn’t know what she’s missing out on.” Then, before Adrien’s eyes, she schools herself back into the happy, sunshine Marinette right as they pull up to the kerb outside the bakery. How does she do it?

“I’ll see you at eight,” Adrien says to the Gorilla, who grunts in response. Then he shuts the car door after Marinette and follows her into the bakery and upstairs through the living area, all the way up to her room, where Kagami’s already waiting for them with, surprisingly, Alya and Nino.

“Um…” Marinette says, while Adrien freezes when Alya and Nino give him twin smiles. “Not that I don’t love you guys, but…what are you doing here?”

“Well, we figured we’d surprise our besties and drop in,” Alya says. “Plus, Nino wanted a croissant.”

Marinette snorts. “Of course.”

“Hey,” Nino grumbles.

“And, uh…” Alya bites her lip. “Look, we don’t know what to believe anymore. But Kagami told me and Nino about the Lila thing, and I don’t want to believe that she’s a heartless liar, but if Kagami and Adrien are taking your side and you’ve apparently got this plan going on that involves her, and you’re my best friend –”

“Alya –”

“And oh my god, if she’s lying then – then the expulsion, and all the times she’s said you were nasty to her and she didn’t know why, and I told my best friend to her face that I didn’t believe her –”

“ _Alya_ ,” Marinette says with a small smile. “It’s okay. Really. I forgive you. You too, Nino.”

Nino’s shoulders slump in relief. “Thank god, dude. Nothing against you, but you _have_ gotten pretty vicious when – _ow_!”

“Shut up!” Alya hisses, removing her elbow from his ribs. Marinette sighs.

“It’s okay, guys,” she says, heading to her desk chair to wheel it over, while Adrien drops to sit cross-legged at the foot of the chaise, where Alya, Nino, and Kagami are folding pieces of paper in different origami shapes. The origami ladybug at Alya’s feet nearly makes her snort. “I told Adrien in the car. He doesn’t feel the same way and I’m okay with that.”

“Oh. _Oh_.” Alya’s eyes crinkle. “Sorry, girl. After all the times you’ve tried…”

“How many times?” Adrien says. “Uh, if Marinette’s okay with me knowing about all this stuff?”

“Sure, knock yourself out,” Marinette mumbles.

“Oh, I have stories to tell,” Alya says. “But now’s not the time. What’s the plan?”

“Al and I are in with you guys,” Nino says when Marinette frowns at them. “Whatever you need us to do, dude.”

“If that’s okay,” Kagami says. “I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to tell them, but I thought that it would be okay since they’re your best friends and I know how much it was hurting you that they didn’t believe you.”

“Of course it’s okay. And thank you for trying to make things right between us,” Marinette says. Suddenly looking quite nervous, she adds, “Well, Ladybug said it’s okay to tell you guys, since I accidentally revealed my identity to Chat Noir and Ms Mendeleiev and I can’t be called on again. She entrusted me with a Miraculous a few weeks ago, back when Ms Mendeleiev was akumatised.”

 _The Rat!_ Adrien wants to exclaim, but he manages to stop himself just in time. Adrien Agreste isn’t supposed to know that Marinette was Multimouse, and he certainly doesn’t feel like explaining to his lady how he let his secret identity slip.

“The Rat.” Marinette fishes out the little necklace from underneath her shirt. Out of her purse flies a little rat – Mullo, if Adrien remembers the other kwamis’ names correctly. “I asked Ladybug if I could borrow it to pull off our plan to get evidence against Mr Agreste and Lila. I don’t think she’d have normally agreed, but she knows that Lila’s bad news since the Oni-Chan thing. Maybe she’s hoping that _we_ can find a way to neutralise Lila before she grows too dangerous, since she can’t really get involved in this kind of teenage drama thing as a superhero?”

“Smart,” Adrien says, unable to keep the breathless marvel out of his voice. Marinette’s cheeks turn a dusty pink.

“And as she said, Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t very well be seen sneaking around in someone’s house, especially if it’s got nothing to do with Hawkmoth,” she says. “Plus, their Miraculouses aren’t the best-suited for it. But she said that if Adrien’s willing…” She fishes around in her purse and pulls out a familiar teal Ouroboros bracelet, summoning an equally familiar snake kwami in a burst of light. “He could become Aspik again and help.”

“B-But why me?” Adrien croaks, while Nino’s and Alya’s eyes bulge at the sight of Sass. “If you know I’m Aspik, you have to know how badly I messed up –”

“Well, I – she didn’t want to release more Miraculouses than necessary,” Marinette says. “And it’s your house, so you know your way around it. You have to come.”

“But I probably left a horrible impression on Sass, didn’t I?” Adrien says miserably. Sass chuckles.

“Some people are better-suited to other powers,” he says. “You could wield the Snake effectively enough if you learn not to fixate on one specific event.”

“Like trying to save Ladybug from Desperada.”

“Precisely. Rather, take in the entire situation. Look for different angles.”

“Just like you do when you’re fencing,” Kagami says, and Sass bows his head at her in agreement.

“Only if you’re willing,” Marinette says. “Otherwise, I’m happy to give you the Mouse and I can use the Snake –”

“No. No.” Adrien snatches the bracelet. He remembers vividly what it’s like to constantly go back in time, to remember all the other outcomes when everyone else around him doesn’t, and that’s not something he’s going to put on Marinette if anything goes wrong. “I can do it. I won’t let you down like I did Ladybug.”

“You didn’t let Ladybug down,” Alya says. She makes the final fold on her scarlet origami dragon and presents it to Kagami, who takes it and examines it from different angles with a small, approving smile. “Trust me, as the Ladyblogger, she’d be proud of you for stepping up and trying. Pretty sure she’d only be disappointed if you ended up working for Hawkmoth or something.”

“Alya’s right,” Marinette says softly. Then she clears her throat and pulls a familiar pair of glasses out of her purse. “And Kagami, you’re our ticket in and out. You can teleport us into Adrien’s room and if we need an escape, Ladybug wants you to use the Horse to create one for us. We can call you if we’re all transformed.”

“Of course.” Kagami immediately accepts the glasses and bows her head at Kaalki when the horse kwami materialises. “But why me? Why not Alya or Nino?”

“I don’t work with scruffy riff-raff,” Kaalki sniffs. “But you have the air of glory about you!”

“She’s not replacing Ma – Pegase,” Marinette says. Had she been about to say Max’s name? Had Ladybug told her that Max is Pegase? Just how much does Ladybug trust Marinette, anyway? Adrien hadn’t been aware that the two were particularly close, but it would explain why Marinette’s been so against Lila from the start. “But since Kagami’s already invested in the plan and I didn’t know that Alya and Nino would be here…well, Ladybug would prefer we keep it to as few people as possible.”

“She’s really putting a lot of faith in us, isn’t she?” Adrien says as Kagami slips on the glasses.

“For what it’s worth, I know you three can do it,” Alya says.

“And we’re happy to be the origami moral support, dudes,” Nino adds.

“If you make me a horse, I’ll run you through with my foil,” Kagami says dryly. “I didn’t even know you were proficient at origami, Nino.”

“Yeah, everyone’s surprised when I tell ‘em,” Nino says. “My teacher back in primaire – remember Mr Leroux, Marinette? – he told us the story about making a wish on a thousand paper cranes and I made it my mission to get that wish so our dad would come back. The wish didn’t come true but hey, I figured out that I loved origami, so it can’t be a waste, right? Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.”

The silence that falls on the room is almost awkward but not quite. What does Adrien say to that? Nino’s his best friend – one of the closest people in his life – and yet he’s never once thought that there was more to Nino than the bubbly, upbeat DJ. Adrien already knew that Nino’s father wasn’t around but…he’d never suspected anything like _this_.

“My father died when I was young,” Kagami finally says, breaching the stifling air with her non-hesitating manner that’s always so effective at jolting Adrien into action when he needs it. “And Adrien’s mother is gone. I think Marinette and Alya are the only ones of us with a normal family.”

“Normal is subjective,” Marinette says, while Alya snorts. “If you’d met my grandfather, you’d understand. Should we –?”

“Yes!” Adrien hastens to slide the bracelet on, while Kagami carefully slips on the dainty, almost-invisible golden frames of the disguised Horse Miraculous. “Sass, scales slither!”

“Mullo, get squeaky!”

“Kaalki, full gallop!”

Aspik’s not sure how to accurately describe the rush of emotions at seeing Multimouse again beyond some sort of baseball bat of _sjdhfkljllaskdl_ that whacks him around the head. Ladybug had been _so right_ to give Marinette a Miraculous! Why does she have to be such a cute hero?

“You look like a snack,” he blurts out. Although Multimouse’s cheeks pinken to the colour of her suit accents, she also snorts and raises an eyebrow at him.

“And you look like an egg,” she says. Alya lets loose with a particularly evil bout of laughter.

“Are we sure that Ladybug can’t give you the Mouse again?” Kagami says. Although Aspik can’t see her eyes behind her darkened glasses, he’s got no doubt that she’s taking in every little detail of Multimouse with her unfaltering gaze, which is one of the things about her that both thrills and intimidates him. “You really are adorable.”

“I third that sentiment,” Alya says. “Damn, I knew my bestie would be an epic superhero.”

“Agreed, babe,” Nino says. Now Multimouse’s cheeks are stained scarlet.

“S-Stop it!” she splutters. “Kagami, just – just do it already!”

“Okay, give me a moment to focus,” Kagami says, the corner of her mouth twitching. “I’ve never done this before.”

Multimouse moves to stand by Aspik’s side while Kagami frowns in concentration. Although she’s transformed, Aspik’s fairly certain that he can still catch a faint whiff of her usual scent of strawberries and vanilla, or maybe that’s just his brain deluding him, because he knows for a fact that the Miraculous magic disguises everything about someone’s identity. Then again, if he knows that Multimouse is Marinette, does that lessen the effectiveness of the magic? This is entirely new territory for him.

 _In more ways than one,_ his brain supplies, and Adrien’s too distracted by the glowing blue portal that appears before him to start poking at that thought and why it sounds suspiciously like Plagg.

“Eady, Raspik – dammit, ready, Aspik?” Multimouse shakes her head, causing her twin buns to swish from side to side. A little sixth sense tells Aspik that drawing attention to her lovestruck stammering – which is super cute, not that he’d ever voice that – is the worst thing he can do, especially before a nerve-wracking mission with someone other than Ladybug. How will Multimouse do on her second ever mission, especially with no Ladybug? If only he could tell her that he’s Chat Noir and she’s got an experienced superhero by her side.

“Aspik?” Kagami says. “I can’t keep the portal open forever.”

“Right!” Aspik blinks and shakes his head just like Multimouse had, though not as hard. Then he reaches out to take Multimouse’s hand, unable to hide his grin at the endearing blush that spreads across her cheeks at the contact, and they slip through the portal into his bedroom. Although he can understand why she’d keep her crush from him – not wanting to risk him hating her or acting awkward around her – he’s hard-pressed to find a reason as to _why_ he’d hate her for it in the first place. He’d meant what he’d said to her earlier: she’s nothing like all the girls who cling to him and force their way into his personal space. Marinette commands attention, yes, but not through loudly demanding it. No, she draws it through her softness, her loud passion, her kindness…by being their everyday Ladybug.

_“I think I’ve always felt something more for you. I just didn’t realise it until you said…well, I always thought there was this wall between us.”_

No. Oh, no. Nononononono, he’s already wrestling with his feelings for Ladybug and Kagami, he _cannot_ be having a love crisis right in the middle of a mission…but how hadn’t he realised until Marinette’s confession that he’d always loved her? Maybe he hadn’t wanted to let himself love someone who could reject him and then interact with his unmasked identity, whereas with Ladybug, he could be standing right in front of her and neither of them would have any idea. And Kagami had been the one making the moves and waiting for his response in their relationship, so he hadn’t been given the chance to hem and haw about her rejecting him.

Maybe it’s because his love for Ladybug had hit him like a sledgehammer, bashing him around the head and crushing his heart with the overwhelming strength of a gorgeous heroine in red spandex decrying a supervillain to his buggy face, and Kagami had shouldered her way into his life and carved out a comfortable little spot to share their experiences and made it impossible for him _not_ to like her, while his feelings for Marinette have been soft, insidious, creeping up on him like the plants on Marinette’s balcony creeping up a trellis.

“Adrien?” Multimouse’s soft voice breaks through his wild thoughts. Her bright blue eyes greet Aspik when he lands back on earth, crinkled as she regards him with a tilted head. “Is everything okay? You don’t have to do this if you really don’t want to. I know it must be terrifying to be sneaking around and spying on your father like this.”

“N-No! I’m fine!” Aspik blurts out. “Just…lost in thought. About something. I’m fine. Really. We need to do this.”

Multimouse lets out a small laugh at that. “Alright. Lead the way, egghead.”

“Don’t call me egghead!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> Thanks to bugabisous (mariafernanda), Callmedale, saltinette, Shiningheart_of_Thunderclan, meadowronan, phantombullets240, BenRG, Keyseeker, Breval, ArchangelBloodraven, DivineDemonDragon, Artemaes_Jones, Katieykat513, Bbgirl3191, Read100, fabulously_frenzied, writingish1210, ghostlyhamburger, naresar, TheWayoftheEnigmatic and Lexysama for your comments :)

“Should I use my power now?” Aspik says when he and Multimouse are by his bedroom door, ready to slip out into the house and gather intel on this possible deal between Gabriel and Lila. “Here’s probably the safest place to reset to, and I can always refuel and give us another save point after five minutes once we get to another safe space.”

“Smart!” Multimouse blurts out. With cheeks as red as Ladybug’s suit, she adds, “Sorry! Just…yeah, that’s a good idea, Ad – Aspik. It’s probably not a good idea to wait till we’re caught before setting the save point.”

“Second Chance!” Aspik swipes his fingers over his bangle, setting the snake head back and revealing five teal bars. Then he holds up a finger, rests his other hand on the doorknob, turns it, and pushes it open. Thankfully, the hallway outside is empty, so Aspik gestures for Multimouse to slip out with him.

“I can’t believe I get to do a superhero mission with you!” Multimouse is practically vibrating as she walks. “I mean, it was really cool doing it with Ladybug, but…she’s Ladybug, you know?”

Aspik’s about to respond but they round the corner at that moment and stumble across the maid, Marie Durand. Marie takes one look at them and lets out a piercing scream, and Aspik yelps and fumbles for his bangle as the sound of footsteps from downstairs reaches his ears.

“Second Chance!”

Once more in his bedroom, he heads out with Multimouse again, though this time, his senses are more finely tuned so that they can avoid Marie and anyone else who might be around.

“For the record, it’s awesome doing a superhero mission with you too, Mar – Multimouse,” he whispers. Multimouse jumps.

“O-Oh! I really said that?”

Aspik grins at her and she turns beet red. “Yep. As much as I _loved_ working with Ladybug, I feel like there’s a little less pressure with you. I’m not trying to impress _you_.” His eyes widen when Multimouse reels back as though she’d been slapped. “Um, not that I don’t – I mean – Second Chance!”

God, why can’t he have Second Chance as a superpower in his everyday life? He’d sell his soul to be able to get out of awkward situations like he just had; and _this_ time, when telling Multimouse how he likes working with her, he makes extra sure to leave out the part about not trying to impress her. He hadn’t meant it like _that_! He just meant – well, it’s so much easier to relax with Marinette! She puts everyone at ease!

Unfortunately, his confession of enjoying working with her also makes her squeak and trip over her own feet, crashing to the floor so loudly that Marie is summoned to investigate. Just like the last time she’d caught them, she screams, and Aspik is forced to hurriedly use his Second Chance again to avoid being caught.

Okay. Avoid any topic that involves heaping praise on Multimouse. As much as she deserves it, now is _not_ the time for her to be flustered. Really, that one was all on him.

Fourth time: Aspik got so distracted by Multimouse’s twin buns and wondering how to get Marinette to wear them normally that he completely forgot about Marie. Oops.

Fifth time: Multimouse slipped past him as they crept down the grand staircase and her smell of strawberries and vanilla invaded his nose and knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing head over heels and bringing Multimouse down with him. Nathalie had been decidedly unimpressed, but he’d reset before she could snarl out whatever she was going to say.

Sixth time: minor love crisis over how hard it would be to just go out with Ladybug and Kagami and Marinette all at the same time. A close encounter of the Marie kind once more.

Seventh time: Just a dizzy spell. Definitely not distracted by wondering what Multimouse’s lips would taste like and if she’d taste any different when detransformed. Thank god no one else remembers what happens but him.

Eighth time: At least made it past Marie before remembering Ladybug holding Marinette close and devolving into a primate with his single brain cell dedicated to fantasies involving both girls that he’ll never divulge even under pain of death. Caught by Nathalie again.

Ninth time: Got distracted by the way Multimouse’s jump rope tail moved as she turned the corner and then couldn’t look away from her butt. Here lies Adrien Agreste, struck down by the heavens for perving on the butt of one of his best friends. (The superhero suits definitely do their wielders some favours, though).

Tenth time: finally made it all the way to the atelier, quicker this time so Nathalie wouldn’t catch them. Scarred for life when Multimouse divided to make the door opening look like a breeze and Nathalie had been hugging Gabriel from behind and burying her nose in the crook of his neck with one hand splayed across his stomach. Gabriel Agreste in any kind of sexual context? Eww, eww, _gross_.

Eleventh time: quickest reset yet when he told Multimouse what he’d seen last reset and she’d let out a shrill scream at the thought. Lesson learned: don’t let Multimouse imagine Gabriel Agreste in any kind of situation like that. Good thing Aspik had taken the Snake instead of her.

Twelfth time: took a more moderate pace; not too quick that they’ll catch Gabriel and Nathalie banging or whatever it is they were doing, but not so slow that she’ll catch them downstairs again. Unfortunately, this is the most skewed timing yet.

“– not with Ms Rossi. And Tsurugi-san swears that he isn’t –”

Aspik and Multimouse freeze, but it’s too late to duck back around the corner or into another room hide from Nathalie, who’s frozen at the sight of them. For a moment, both sides stare at each other, mentally daring the other to make the first move, and Aspik might have been faster to react if the previous two cycles hadn’t left him flustered, so it’s Nathalie who breaks the silent game of chicken with a snarl of determination.

“Duusu –”

“Second Chance!”

The world around Aspik dissolves and reforms to place him back in his bedroom. He shakes his head and grabs Multimouse by the wrist when she reaches for the doorknob.

“We should wait ten minutes or so. The timing’s always wrong,” he says, deliberately not mentioning all their failed times when he’d been distracted by her, so Multimouse nods and steps away. They fall silent, waiting until Aspik’s sure that it’ll be a good time to sneak down…but there’s something that’s eating at him from the last cycle. Something about Nathalie’s reaction. Every time, she’s snarled at them and looked like she was going on the attack, but Aspik had always reset before she’d been able to speak. That time, though she’d gotten a word out. What had she said? Duusu?

“Duusu? What does the Peacock kwami have to do with this?” Multimouse says. Oh. He’d said that last bit out loud. But wait, how does Multimouse know who the Peacock kwami is?

“Uh, how do you –?”

“Ladybug told me!” Multimouse blurts out. “But how do _you_ know?”

A terrible thought occurs to Aspik, making his stomach twist and coil like a snake that’s tangled itself in a knot. He swallows around the lump in his throat and rasps, “Nathalie. She said it before I reset.”

Multimouse’s eyes bulge, and she shoots a look at the door and then back at Aspik. “You should detransform,” she murmurs. “We need to come up with a plan now that we could be up against Mayura, so you may as well let Sass refuel.”

“Right. Um, scales rest.” Although Adrien’s got no idea what’s going on with Multimouse, he can’t help but instantly follow her instructions as though Ladybug herself had given them. He directs Sass to Plagg’s Camembert fridge and then sinks down on the end of his bed, watching Multimouse wear a hole in the floor with her pacing and fidgeting and mumbling. She’s so like Ladybug in this moment, just like when his lady is coming up with a convoluted plan…but that’s not fair to Marinette. It’s not fair to compare her to Ladybug just because he loves both girls and it would solve all his problems if they were the same girl.

“No, no, that won’t work,” Multimouse mumbles, toying with a lock of dark hair that frames her face. A momentary gap in the hair reveals the black stud in her ear, the only feature from her civilian self to carry through to her transformation, although Adrien hadn’t been aware that accessories _could_ carry over. Maybe it’s just him.

But…wait. Except…

_“That’s very sweet of you!” Multimouse turned her head to show her bare earlobes. “But I’m not Ladybug! I’m Multimouse!”_

Then how does Multimouse have earrings now? Unless…no way. There’s no way. Adrien freezes as the fabric of his mind starts to unravel. She’d tricked him! Maribug tricked him! His lady’s been right here in front of him the whole time, and he’d been right to suspect her of being Ladybug, he’d been _right_ , but she’d thrown him off like the devious girl she is! How? The Rat can only divide its wielder. It doesn’t have any powers of deception.

But…the Fox does. And it’s perfectly possible to unify Miraculouses; Dragonbug and Snake Noir had proved that in the battle against Miracle Queen and her henchmen. And theoretically, if there was a Multimouse that had unified with the Fox and hidden away, in the perfect position to create an illusion of Marinette and Ladybug next to each other to throw off Chat Noir…

“Adrien?” Multimouse says when Adrien exhales and runs a hand through his hair. How is he even supposed to process this? He’s loved Ladybug for so long that it’s become as much a part of him as breathing, and Marinette’s crept up on him so slowly with each day that’s passed…but they’re the same person! He’s fallen for the same person twice over! “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Just…deep in thought about implications and stuff.”

Multimouse blanches. “ _Oh_. I didn’t even think…if Nathalie is Mayura, and the Butterfly and Peacock were lost together…oh, Adrien, I’m so sorry.”

Oh. His father could be Hawkmoth. It’s not the first time Marinette’s suspected it – after all, there had been that time that Ladybug had had her suspicions, just before his father had been akumatised – but Adrien’s brain hadn’t even connected the dots from Nathalie’s attempt to summon Duusu until now. And _that_ thought is enough to twist a new snake in his gut, except that this one is one of bubbling nausea.

“But he was akumatised,” Adrien rasps, raising a hand in case he needs to clap it to his mouth to hide a gag. “Can the Butterfly akumatise themselves? Did he do it to throw you – uh, Ladybug and Chat Noir off his scent? If Hawkmoth’s my fa – if he’s, you know, then he must’ve panicked when I lost the book and thought that you were on his tail.”

Multimouse shrugs rather helplessly. “I wish I knew what to tell you. But I hardly know anything about the Butterfly.”

Yeah. But she knows plenty about all the others. “No, I get it,” Adrien croaks. “You wouldn’t know. What do we do?”

“We need a plan,” Multimouse says. “We should find Ladybug and Chat Noir and tell them –”

“We don’t have time for that,” Adrien immediately counters. Multimouse blinks and shuts her mouth with an audible _clack_ , and Adrien vows to apologise later for being so harsh now, but there’s no way he can just sit back and let Gabriel keep the Butterfly for a moment longer than necessary. “I am – I _could be_ the son of Hawkmoth. If anyone else gets akumatised after this…that’s on me. I could’ve stopped him.”

“Adrien, no.” Multimouse crosses over to sit next to him and she rests a gloved hand on his bare one. Adrien’s not sure whether the warm tingles that dance across his skin come from Ladybug or Marinette, but does it really matter when they’re the same person? “The only way you could be guilty in this is if you were willingly helping him. And I know you. I know you’d never help that scum. I’ve seen how you interact with him, remember?”

Adrien ducks his head to hide his warming cheeks. Marinette’s always had such faith in him, whether he’s Adrien or Chat Noir, and even though he can’t figure out exactly what he’s done to deserve such staunch faith from the most incredible person in the world, he’s not going to complain about it.

“But I’ll be guilty of letting him get away with it if we don’t do something now,” he says, praying that there’s no sign of his inner turmoil visible to Multimouse. “If you divide, you should be able to get the Miraculous, right?”

“Yeah but…” Multimouse bites her lip. “We should have more of a plan than that. What if something goes wrong? This is more of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s thing.”

“And like you said, they wouldn’t be able to even get near this place without everyone knowing,” Adrien says. Technically, _they’re_ Ladybug and Chat Noir, but he’s not lying when he says that they could never get near Gabriel as their true superhero identities. “But Multimouse and Aspik? I can keep resetting and tell you where we went wrong. And you can sneak the Miraculous away.”

“I suppose…” Multimouse says. “And we could also get Mayura’s if we knew where it was kept.”

“I think it could be in the vault in my father’s office. That’s where I got the book from, so it’d make sense for him to keep it in there.”

“But we still need proof. We could grab the Miraculouses and give them to Ladybug and Chat Noir, yeah, but it’d be our word against his. I don’t want him to have _any_ chance of getting out of this.”

“Why do we need all these convoluted plans?” Adrien throws his hands up and jumps to his feet, making Multimouse jerk away. “We just need to go in there and get the Miraculouses! This isn’t an akuma battle!”

“I’m sorry, Adrien.” Multimouse wilts. “I just want to make sure that we cover every possible angle. I mean, if your father _is_ Hawkmoth, it’s not going to be easy for you. There’s going to be fallout, from the police and the legal system and the news and _everyone_. Considering how much your father controls your life, things are gonna change completely for you. And if he somehow manages to slip out with an innocent verdict because there wasn’t enough evidence…”

 _Oh_. He hadn’t even considered what would happen to himself, but of course Marinette’s concern would be him and his welfare. “No, I’m sorry,” he says, once more wondering what the hell he did to deserve someone as amazing as Marinette. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you when you’re just trying to make sure that everything goes smoothly. I’m just…dealing with a lot, but I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

Multimouse smiles. “Apology accepted. I know that learning your father could be Hawkmoth can’t be easy. But I do think we should do this later. Maybe at night when he’s asleep and we can just grab the Miraculous? You said that Nathalie’s out there, and we don’t want to risk Mayura jumping in and making things messy. And we can’t go to the police and get their help to take him down. Even if we had proof, we can’t trust anyone but Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Ladybug said that she trusts us.”

“You really are brilliant,” Adrien breathes. Multimouse’s face stains scarlet in response,

“Yank – um, thank you!”

“But how do we get proof? Unless we stalk him and wait for him to transform, I don’t see how – oh, and we need proof that he’s made a deal with Lila!”

Multimouse is quiet for a long moment. “Do you think…Lila knows?” she says in a hushed voice. “Or at least suspects? I mean, it makes sense for your father to make a deal with her, but…”

Adrien swallows around the lump that suddenly forms in his throat. If Gabriel really is Hawkmoth and he has made a deal with Lila, a lot of things will start to make sense, such as why Gabriel would so heartily endorse a dangerous liar. And if they have made a deal, was it in place as far back as when Kagami was akumatised? Is that why Lila had tried to get Ladybug killed?

“I hope that Lila doesn’t know,” he finally says. “For my own sanity. If there’s a whole plot around using me like – like a piece of meat, like I’m something that can just be exchanged like _money_ …”

Multimouse’s eyes soften. “Let’s go,” she says. “We can fill in the others and then take your mind off it. I’ll tell Ladybug everything when she comes by to get the Miraculouses.”

Adrien just nods numbly, his chest like a lead weight as he struggles to draw in precious oxygen. What else can he do? It’s not like he’s a stranger to being treated like an object – like all he’s good for is smiling and showing himself off for the good of _Gabriel_ – but the thought of being passed around like a shiny object, being used to seal a deal and purchase loyalty in a potential terrorist plot…well, it’s enough to make his stomach try and yeet itself up his throat.

He’s so lost in his daze that he only just notices Multimouse leading him towards bright blue, before his surroundings turn soft pink. There’s a buzzing sound that could be talking but his one remaining brain cell is currently trying to process just how entangled he is in this whole Hawkmoth-Lila plot, how little agency he even has anymore, that it’s all he can do to not break down completely on the spot.

But when his fuzzy vision clears and he’s met with the sympathetic faces of Marinette and Alya and Nino and Kagami, any remaining power he might have over his body dissipates and his legs give out beneath him, depositing him on Marinette’s cool wooden floor. There’s a flash of black and pink and the soft scent of strawberries and vanilla, mingling with the sharp smells of earth mixed with sports deodorant, of warm cinnamon spice, of fresh men’s deodorant. It all anchors him, stops him from floating away, fills his lungs in place of the air that he can’t breathe, and he finally allows himself to break, surrounded by the safety net of the people with whom he’d trust with his life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> Thanks to phantombullets240, DivineDemonDragon, Artemaes_Jones, fabulously_frenzied, BenRG, Keyseeker, Bbgirl3191, TOG84, naresar, Lexysama, AliceKat and writingish1210 for your comments :)

“– wake him up?”

“He needs the sleep, though. That was an enormous shock.”

“Yeah but his bodyguard’s picking him up at eight and he needs time to recover so he can act normal.”

That voice…it’s the voice of an angel. It’s his lady! His princess!

“Maribug…” he croaks around the weight in his chest. The hushed voices around him immediately die.

“W-What?” Maribug’s voice squeaks. Adrien should open his eyes but...it’s peaceful, drifting in this sea of darkness with his lady’s voice nearby. It feels like a pleasant dream after the nastiness of the shock that the voices had been talking about, although what that shock could be, he’s got no clue apart from a niggling little feeling in the corner of his brain.

“Of course she’s you. Of course you’re the most incredible girl, Maribug. Buginette. I like both. Just like Ryuumi. Kagyuuko.” He sighs and prays that this dream of amazing girls who could kick him over the Eiffel Tower never ends. “ _Girls_. Please step on me.”

“Uh, Marinette, what’s he talking about?” says a voice that’s familiar but just evading Adrien’s addled mind.

“N-Nothing! I have no clue! He’s just delicious – uh, delirious!” Maribug babbles in a high voice.

“Really,” the second voice says flatly. “Because it sounds like he’s saying you’re –”

“ _He’s just delirious, okay_?”

Everything after that fades into a buzz of voices and background sounds that brush over him but don’t sink in. He’s not sure how long it is before he’s finally able to open his eyes; it could be minutes, or it could be days. Either way, by the time he groans and cracks his eyes open, the light that meets him is emanating from a lightbulb instead of through the windows across from him, which show the dim skyline of the city outside lit by brilliant orange. How long exactly had he been out?

“Adrien?” says an angel from nearby, and some warm pressure envelops one of his hands. Craning his head brushes his cheek against soft pink fabric, informing him that he’s lying on the chaise in Marinette’s room, and this conclusion is confirmed when his brain focuses enough to inform him that the person kneeling on the ground next to him is Marinette. Kagami’s sitting cross-legged next to her, so close that the outsides of their thighs are touching, and she appears to be the source of the warmth in his hand, since she’s laced their fingers and is resting her head on the edge of the chaise just next to his side. Marinette’s blue eyes crinkle as she reaches over to brush the hair back from his forehead, and for a moment, this is Adrien’s whole world: just the three of them, him and his lady and his heart’s thunderstorm, and he almost forgets why he’s even in this position until someone else speaks.

“It’s around six.” This new speaker is Alya, who’s sitting cross-legged in Marinette’s desk chair and regarding him with the same sympathy as Marinette. “We figured you needed the sleep after that panic attack.”

“Alya!” Nino hisses from the floor next to the chair. Alya shrugs.

“What? He was gonna ask eventually.”

“Panic attack?” Adrien lets out a hoarse laugh. “I haven’t had one of them since…wow, I don’t even remember. Especially not one that bad.”

“Understandable, after what you learned,” Kagami says. She’s still wearing Kaalki’s glasses, and everything pours back into Adrien’s brain in a rush: Nathalie most likely being Mayura, _his own father_ possibly being Hawkmoth and making a deal with Lila using him as collateral – collateral in a supervillain’s terrorist plot –

“Hey. Hey, Adrien.” A warm hand grabs his unclaimed hand and squeezes, while his chest once more begins to tighten. “Five things you can see.”

“Huh?” he rasps.

“Tell me. Five things you can see.”

“Um…” Adrien squints around the room, trying to direct his focus to the task he’s been given instead of the way his chest is clamping down on his lungs. “Your computer. Mannequin. Alya and Nino. Kagami. Uh…you. Your smile.”

Marinette’s soft smile seems to sharpen, drifting more into focus. “Good. Four things you can feel or touch.”

“The – the chaise.” His fingers twitch and brush against soft material. “My shirt.” He flexes his fingers in Kagami’s hand and she pushes right back, counterbalancing and grounding him. “Kagami. And…and you.”

“Good.” Marinette squeezes his other hand, and it’s like she’s breathing new life into him by the touch alone. “Three things you can hear.”

Adrien draws in a deep breath – much easier now that he’s not suffocating – and focuses. “The cars. They’re outside. Um…there’s a dog barking somewhere. And you. Your voice.”

“Almost there. Two things you can smell.”

“Strawberries and vanilla,” are the first words out of Adrien’s mouth in answer to that. While there are other fainter scents around him – fabric, the cool city air fluttering in from the cracked window, cooking food from downstairs – the smell that overwhelms him, that demands his attention, is Marinette. Her forehead creases in response to his words, but she thankfully doesn’t question them.

“And one thing you can taste.”

Instinctively, Adrien raises Marinette’s hand to his mouth and presses his lips to the back of it. “You,” he says, while Marinette’s face flushes as brilliant red as her suit when she’s Ladybug. God, Adrien loves this girl so much. How did he get so lucky that he fell for her twice over?

“Ghat’s tood – that’s good!” Marinette stammers. Kagami lets go of his hand with a small frown, and although Adrien wants nothing more than to erase that look from her face forever, his fuzzy brain can’t quite figure out how to do so, or even much of what’s going on right now. “Better feel a bit?”

“You’re so cute when you stutter,” Adrien’s mouth says without his permission. Marinette’s face turns even redder, darkening to the crimson of Ryuuko’s suit, and it’s that comparison that makes him realise: Kagami’s probably upset that he’d kissed Marinette’s hand like that. _Shit_. But how does he explain that he doesn’t love her any less? That he naturally gravitated to Marinette because she’s his partner, the one who’s had his back since the very beginning, not because he loves her more or something? The answer is that he can’t; not without exposing his identity, and he’d never betray his lady like that when they’ve agreed on the importance of secret identities, especially since he’d only just found out _her_ identity. God, this is all so confusing. How do people do this feelings thing?

“Um…what do you remember?” Marinette forces out. “Since you got back here?”

Adrien frowns. “Not much. I know you guys comforted me – and you’re all the best friends anyone could have.”

“Damn right,” Alya says, while Nino salutes.

“Anything else?” Marinette’s tone is cautious, like there’s an elephant in the room that she’s stepping around. Adrien squints at her.

“Then I woke up and Alya told me that it was six.”

“Oh,” Nino says. “So, you don’t remember –” He hisses when Alya kicks him in the ribs, though it doesn’t look like there was any force behind it.

“Remember what?” Adrien struggles to sit up, though his body is less like a solid block of concrete thanks to Marinette’s grounding exercise, so it doesn’t take too much effort. “What did I do? Or say?”

Marinette looks over her shoulder at the others and bites her lip. Adrien’s gut lurches.

“Mari,” he says, leaning forward, and she starts at the nickname. “What happened? Did I mess up? Did my father or Nathalie –”

“No, no, nothing like that!” Marinette throws her free hand in the air, then takes a deep breath and looks down at the floor. “Just…Adrien, how did you know I’m – that I’m Ladybug?”

Adrien.exe crashes. Oh. _Oh no_. When had he let slip? It must have been in the fuzzy grey realm between getting back to Marinette’s room and waking up to a panic attack, because if Alya and Nino and Kagami didn’t know then Marinette wouldn’t have said it in front of them. But how can he give an answer without revealing his own identity?

 _Bit selfish of you, isn’t it?_ says a nasty little voice in his head. _Worrying about your own identity when you just blew Ladybug’s, especially to the Ladyblogger._

Adrien swallows and then runs his free hand through his hair, which is much more Chat Noir’s messy mop than Adrien Agreste’s perfect style. “Um…your earrings gave it away,” he says slowly. Marinette’s forehead crinkles in that adorable way that it does whenever she’s trying to think of what to do with her Lucky Charm.

“How? They’re not – they’re plain black – I didn’t have my Ladybug transformation –”

“Well, for one, it occurred to me that jewellery doesn’t carry over to our transformations. But if it was a Miraculous?” Adrien leans in closer, holding himself on the chaise so that he doesn’t nose-dive off it, praying that he’s reading this right and he’s not just about to massively screw everything up. “And last time I saw Multimouse, she didn’t have any earrings.”

“… _What_?” Marinette blinks. “But you’ve never seen Multimouse –”

“Of course I have,” Adrien says. “She found it very sweet that I thought she was Ladybug, and I couldn’t help but trust her with my life as soon as she spoke, even if I didn’t know who she was. I don’t know how I let you trick me like that when I’ve had your back more than anyone else and I know what your brilliant mind’s capable of. It’s always been us two against the world, hasn’t it?”

It’s rather fascinating that Adrien can pinpoint the exact moment when Marinette’s brain crashes and blue screens. First off is the deathly pallor of her face, followed by her mouth falling open and emitting strange, strangled sounds that don’t in any way resemble speech, and then she’s grabbing his hand and yanking it up to eye level, causing Adrien to inevitably face-plant into the ground and hang off the chaise. But even though he can’t see her, he can certainly feel her running her fingers over his silver ring, and he knows very well that she’s aware of what the Black Cat Miraculous looks like after her stint as Lady Noire, even if the ring had looked different for her like her earrings had changed for him.

“Oh my god,” Alya whispers in the background. “No way – it can’t be – I’m such an _idiot_ –”

“Yep,” says Plagg’s familiar voice as Adrien wrestles his other arm to pull himself fully onto the floor without crashing in an undignified heap. Great. The little gremlin’s going to take full advantage of this situation to milk all the admiration he can get to feed his overly large ego. “You’re such dim-witted creatures. Never see what’s right in front of your nose, and I think these two are proving my point.”

“You don’t need to be so mean about it, you stinky sock!” says a high voice that Adrien recognises as Tikki’s. Well, at least she also recognises that the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak.

“What?” Plagg says innocently. “I had higher expectations of Fox Girl there after she figured out Turtle 2.0 was her boyfriend –”

“How do you even know about that?”

“I know things. I’m an all-powerful god –”

“You’re so adorable!” There’s the sound of feet crashing on the floor. When Adrien finally manages to roll onto his back and groan, hoping that he doesn’t look like a total lost cause, he’s greeted with the upside-down sight of Alya cupping Plagg and scratching him behind the ears. Although Plagg’s wearing a look of annoyance, his loud purrs are a clear betrayal of his attempt to be a grumpy little goblin.

“I’m a creature of darkness! I’m the thing you fear in the night! The ancient avatar of destruction and misfortune!” Plagg yowls, but he makes no attempt to escape Alya’s furious scritching. If anything, his purrs grow louder, and Tikki hovers nearby with a particularly smug look on her face. Traitor. Turning his back on Adrien as soon as someone showers him with affection.

“Okay,” Marinette says faintly and helps Adrien sit up and lean against the side of the chaise. “Okay. I think I’m with it now.” Then she jabs him in the chest and immediately transforms from a dazed airhead to a terrifying demon. “Why the hell would you take the Snake? You could’ve said no! I was waiting for you to show up –”

“You said I was perfect for the job!” Adrien’s voice pitches and cracks, betraying him just like Plagg has. “I kind of had a massive crush on you, remember? I wanted to…well, get you to like me, since you didn’t like Chat Noir. And you said you didn’t need Chat –”

“ _Oh_.” Marinette’s fury dies down like an enraged ocean smoothing out into calm ripples. “Oh, kitty. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to imply – well, I was wrong, okay? I meant what I said after Anansi and during our fight against Miracle Queen. You’re irreplaceable and it’s always going to be us against the world no matter what. I was just, um…more than a bit lovestruck with Adrien Agreste. I wanted to make a good impression on you for your first mission.”

“Really?” Kagami says dryly. “ _Ladybug_ wanted to make a good impression? I think I was mildly infatuated with you as soon as you saved me when I was Riposte. You made such an impression on me that you made me realise I wasn’t heterosexual.”

“Join the club,” Alya drawls. “I was so gay for her from the moment she saved me from Stoneheart. Well, pan, if you wanna get technical.” She and Kagami exchange knowing smirks.

“Uh, I know it’s not gay for me, but yeah,” Nino says. “I think we’ve all got a little something for Ladybug, dude. Although to be fair, Chat Noir’s just above her on my freebie list, and only half of that’s ‘cause Alya would deck me if I took Ladybug from her.”

“Damn right,” Alya says and rewards him by bending down to kiss the top of his head.

“I know that’s dumb now!” Marinette huffs and crosses her arms. “I’m a teenager in love. Sue me. And I’m going to ignore that all three of you would do me. Well, my superhero self.”

“Nino would do _me_ ,” Adrien says smugly because yeah, it’s just a bit of an ego boost that your best friend finds you hot, even if a) he’s taken by the girl of his dreams and b) you’re hoping to be taken by the girl of _your_ dreams.

“Damn right, bro,” Nino says. Adrien grins.

“ _Bro_.”

“Oh. My. God.” Alya throws her free hand in the air but quickly returns to petting Plagg when he hisses at her. “All this time, _both_ my ships have been the same people! Marinette’s into Adrien – Adrien’s into Ladybug – Chat Noir’s into Ladybug too, and Ladybug’s into Adrien – but Marinette and Ladybug are _the same people_ , and so are Adrien and Chat Noir! You’ve liked each other all along! _What the hell is wrong with you two_?”

Marinette catches Adrien’s eye and chews her bottom lip. His chest spasms, he gasps, and then he’s slumping against the chaise in a fit of laughter so hard that he can barely breathe, and Marinette’s lying across him and laughing just as hard. By the time Adrien finally manages to catch his breath, hiccupping, his eyes are stinging and blurry and Marinette’s face is buried in his chest, dampening his shirt with her own mirthful tears.

“Okay –” Adrien pants and drops a laugh-leaden arm around Marinette’s waist. “Okay – we need to – we need a plan –”

The reminder that his father is very likely Hawkmoth only slightly pops the atmosphere, but the sheer what-the-fuckery of everything that’s just gone on at least keeps everyone smiling. Wiping her cheeks, which are now stained red, Marinette scrambles backwards away from Adrien and then jumps to her feet and promptly face-plants back into the carpet.

“I’m okay!” she cries, leaping up again and stumbling towards her wardrobe. Alya shoots a mystified look at Adrien as Marinette rummages in her wardrobe, but Adrien’s eyes widen in understanding of what’s going on as soon as she emerges with a ladybug-patterned egg box. Alya and Nino and Kagami don’t seem to have a clue what it is, although to be fair, they’d been brainwashed when they’d seen it, so he’s not expecting them to have any memory of it.

“So, bugaboo, hit us with your incredibly convoluted plan,” Adrien says. Marinette pokes her tongue out at him in response.

“This,” she says and presses the top black spot to cause a cavity to open and show the slots of the main seven Miraculouses, while the other spots open to reveal the zodiacs, “is the Miracle Box. It’s where they’re all kept. And since I’m the Guardian now, I can control who gets which Miraculous without having to go to the Guardian every single time I need one.” She pauses and her face clouds over, so Adrien reaches over to squeeze her knee. Although she’s not the only one mourning the loss of Master Fu, she’s definitely taking it harder than Adrien is, since she knew him better and she’s now got all this responsibility on her shoulders.

“Wait, so that’s where you went every time you had to get help?” Alya leans in, eyes gleaming with her signature curiosity, though she makes sure to still keep scritching Plagg. “So. Cool! Uh, what happened to the other Guardian?”

This time, Marinette’s face is so clouded over that even the other three can pick up on it. Alya’s smile fades and she slumps back in the desk chair and mumbles an apology.

“Every time a Guardian passes on the title, they lose their memories,” Adrien says so that Marinette doesn’t have to answer and address something that’s no doubt been haunting her since that battle. “It’s a failsafe to protect the identities of the other holders and the Miraculous knowledge.”

“That’s bullshit!” Nino bursts out. “C’mon, dude! I get not remembering the identities and Miraculous knowledge and stuff, but _all_ their memories? What the hell?”

“Nino’s right,” Kagami says with a terrifying little scowl on her face. “That seems like a very poor reward for that kind of service.”

“We don’t actually know much about it,” Marinette says. “Maybe there are different levels of memory wipe. Maybe Master Fu only knew about that one, since he wasn’t trained properly. We won’t know until we talk to the Order, which I’ve been meaning to do – but not right now.” Her features settle into the same determination of Ladybug in the middle of an akuma battle. “We’ve got a supervillain or two to catch. And here’s the plan.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> Thanks to Bbgirl3191, BenRG, Keyseeker, MythGirl02, DivineDemonDragon, bugabisous (mariafernanda), redbird691, fabulously_frenzied, naresar, Bluejay1425, csad, writingish1210 and Causemufins for your comments :)

“All set,” Marinette announces once she and Kagami have met Adrien in the boys’ locker room before fencing class. “Alya and Nino are interviewing Lila as we speak.”

“I have to say, it was a smart move to interview her about her new modelling opportunity,” Kagami says. “The additional evidence will definitely help incriminate Mr Agreste if he tries to deny anything. But you know it’s not guaranteed to out her as a liar, right?”

Marinette sighs and lets her shoulders slump. “Look, at this point, Lila doesn’t even matter anymore. We can deal with her if she wriggles out of this. Right now, our main goal is to confirm whether Mr Agreste is Hawkmoth and then take him down if he is. And if he isn’t…well, he still looks pretty sleazy for striking a deal with an underage girl like this.” She squares her shoulders and adds, “Either way, he’s not going to get away with treating Adrien like a piece of meat any longer.”

“Agreed,” Kagami says. Then she shoots a glance at the locker room door and her determined face melts into something more forlorn. “Since we have a little time before fencing class begins, I think we need to talk. We need to sort out what’s going on between the three of us.”

Marinette’s heart sinks. She hadn’t realised until today just how touchy-feely she’d been with Adrien yesterday, especially in the wake of the identity reveals, because now how is she supposed to feel? Her dear partner, the boy who’s been in love with her from the start, is the boy she loves and let go for his own happiness. And although she’ll keep letting him go to make him and Kagami happy…well, there’s a part of her that doesn’t want to; that wants to push Kagami aside and claim that happiness for herself, even though her rational brain is sickened at the thought of betraying her friend for the sake of a boy.

But Adrien’s not just a boy. He’s her _partner_. Her _kitty_. But at the same time, he’d also mentioned that he genuinely does like Kagami, in a way that Marinette doesn’t feel about Luka. It’s going to have to come down to his decision but, well, Marinette’s got a strong suspicion that he’ll pick her, and Kagami doesn’t deserve to have her heart broken like that. And on the slim chance that he does pick Kagami? Marinette’s not sure she’s ready to have _her_ heart broken when she’d just gotten her hopes up about potentially dating him.

“This is ridiculous!” Marinette bursts out. “Why does all this drama have to revolve around a boy? What are we, a soap opera?”

Kagami raises her hand to conceal her unladylike snort, while Adrien looks like someone had bashed him around the head with a sledgehammer. It must now be sinking in for him just how _silly_ this all is.

“Look,” Kagami says. “Let me be honest. You two are Ladybug and Chat Noir. I saw how he instinctively gravitated towards you after his panic attack. Even back at the ice rink, I could see that Adrien had feelings for you, even if he didn’t know at that time. If it comes down to it, I’ll step aside, because I know Adrien. I know he’ll choose you if we truly forced him to do so. And yes, it’ll hurt me now, but it would hurt far more to let myself fall deeper for Adrien and let myself think that I have a long-term possibility with him.”

“Kagami –”

“But,” Kagami cuts across Adrien, “I had an idea last night when I was trying to come to terms with it. I wasn’t lying when I said that I was crushing on Ladybug and that she made me realise my bisexuality. And after the way you helped us escape the hotel during the wedding anniversary? I don’t think Adrien was the only one infatuated with you having your hair down.”

Marinette blinks. Then she blinks again, because Kagami seems to be going in a very specific direction with this, and she’s not sure whether the thrilling butterflies in her stomach from that direction are amazing or terrifying. Maybe both.

“I do have strong feelings for Adrien,” Kagami says. “He knows this. I’ve also realised that I have feelings for you too, Marinette; feelings that I didn’t want to consider until yesterday, when I realised that we don’t need to torment ourselves with deciding who dates who and whose heart gets broken. I even called Alya last night so that we could have a “girl talk”, as you call them, and she told me about your two classmates who are dating while one of them also has a girlfriend. Kim and Max, I believe.”

“Wait, Kim and Max are dating?” Marinette and Adrien chorus.

“I had no idea!” Adrien says.

“Yeah, I thought he was dating Ondine!” Marinette adds. Kagami’s lips twitch.

“According to Alya, Kim’s dating both Max and Ondine,” she says. “And that made me realise that all three of us could date each other. Adrien clearly loves you, Marinette, and I know he’s been agonising over his feelings for both you and me. And I do have some feelings for you, but we don’t have to date each other, so that doesn’t matter right now. We can deal with the two of us later.”

“Oh, that’s why I freaked out about her being cute during the friendship game,” Marinette mumbles, though she’s not sure whether she’s talking to herself or Tikki. Tikki still giggles from within her purse. “Oh my god. I think I’m having an identity crisis.”

“All three of us…dating?” Adrien says blankly and runs a hand through his hair, looking about as error 404 as Marinette currently feels trying to process Kagami’s suggestion and whether she’s got a small infatuation with Kagami that could potentially grow into an actual crush in the future. “Is that even…but I thought you could only love one person! That’s what I’ve been taught all my life.”

“Clearly not, or I wouldn’t be suggesting this,” Kagami says. “It’s not going to magically erase all the jealousy and problems between us, and I know I’ll feel odd about seeing you and Marinette being affectionate at first because I’m so used to winning and getting what I want for myself. But I know that the three of us can work long-term if we put the effort in. Adrien and I are similar enough to truly get each other, and Marinette’s the lynchpin between the three of us to balance us out when we’re _too_ similar. The wedding anniversary proved that.” She smiles at Marinette, who’s currently trying not to die on the spot, and adds, “You’re the only person I’d be willing to share with. It wouldn’t feel like second place next to you. And if we ended up dating in the future, I’d be very happy. But if we didn’t, I’d still be happy to be one of your best friends.”

“What the heck kind of girl talk did you have with Alya?” Marinette croaks.

“The kind where she’s frustrated beyond belief over this ‘love square’ and wants you to ‘get your crap together already’ but also wants me to be happy as one of her new friends,” Kagami deadpans.

“Alya’s definitely the one with the brain cell,” Adrien says with a shaky laugh. “And I really like her idea. But I don’t think I can commit to anyone right now. Not even my lady.”

Marinette’s brow creases and she reaches out to rest a hand on his arm. “I get it,” she says softly as Kagami takes his other hand. “And I agree with you. We need to deal with this business first.”

“But even then.” Adrien’s face twists. “What if he _is_ Hawkmoth? The evidence is all there. What happens in the fallout? I’ve got nowhere else to go. I probably won’t have any money to bring to the table because that’s definitely gonna be wrung through the legal system and my father’s company will tank with his reputation. I’ll be a wreck. And I don’t want to put that on anyone else, especially you two.”

“Rubbish,” Kagami says immediately. “We and Alya and Nino are your friends. You can’t push us away that easily.”

“And if you think we care about the money side of things then you really are a silly kitty,” Marinette scoffs. “You’re staying with one of us. I want to say me or Kagami but, well, considering this whole three-way idea we’re thinking of…”

“It could easily go south,” Kagami agrees. “Even if she is your superhero partner.”

“And Alya’s family probably wouldn’t have the space for a fifth kid, even if they’d love to take you in,” Marinette says slowly as the cogs in her brain whir. “But I’m sure Nino would love to be your adopted brother. Then you’d really be “bros”. And if he can’t…well, what about your bodyguard? Do you think he’s in with your father too?”

“No,” Adrien says immediately. “Definitely not. He’s the only adult who’s, well…actually _been there_ for me since my mother disappeared. He’s the only one who lets me get away with small things here and there when I need it, like that photoshoot I did with Juleka to model your designs. Nathalie’s in too deep with Father – and Hawkmoth, if they’re different people, but, well…I can’t see anyone else trusting her enough to give her a Miraculous. And she can’t have stolen it, or Hawkmoth wouldn’t trust her, and why would she ally with him in that case?”

“And I’m sure Ladybug will personally ensure that no one dares to think that you were in collusion with Hawkmoth,” Kagami says. Marinette nods immediately, because like hell she’s going to turn her back on her kitty when he needs her most.

“Damn right. Especially with Chat Noir’s support.” She squeezes Adrien’s arm and adds, “But Kagami and I won’t put more on your shoulders. We’ll be here for you but…yeah, I think it’s a good idea to wait until this all blows over before we try, um…dating.” Her cheeks fill with hot blood at the mystical d-word, especially having said it to Adrien’s face. Yes, he’s Chat Noir and she knows he has feelings for her but…he’s still _Adrien_.

“And now that that’s settled,” Kagami says, “I hope you won’t let your performance slip during class today, because your father possibly being a magical terrorist is no excuse to slack off against me.”

To Marinette’s delight, that wrenches a small laugh out of Adrien, and he mockingly bows to Kagami. “When have I ever slacked off against you, Kagami?” he says. Kagami’s cheeks turn a faint pink.

“That’s the answer I was hoping to hear,” she says. “You’ll be staying to watch, right, Marinette?”

“Of course. _But_ –” Marinette rests her hands on her hips, “– if you’re gonna drag me in to referee for you, I’m out.”

“Of course not,” Adrien and Kagami sing innocently. Marinette resists the urge to thump her head against the wall and wonder what the heck she’s gotten herself into by even considering jumping into a three-way relationship with them.

* * *

“All good?” Marinette says once Alya and Nino climb into her bedroom to join her and Kagami. Alya shoots her a thumbs-up.

“We owe Chris and the twins a whole week of desserts, but they let us go out and get Lila to babysit,” she says. “We convinced them that we’re playing a prank on her and they have to keep her busy.”

“They won’t spill?” Marinette says, nibbling on her bottom lip. This plan _has_ to go right. If one little thing goes wrong…

“Nah,” Alya says. “Ella and Etta love being in on pranks. And Chris feels like a grown-up because this is a Big Kids Plan. They wouldn’t dare.”

“I wanted to make her a Césaire Specialty drink to make her feel sick,” Nino grumbles. “Nora would’ve helped me. But Al wouldn’t let me.”

“I don’t need you to defend my honour after how she screwed me over,” Alya drawls before pecking him on the lips. “But I appreciate the sentiment. Ready to go?”

Marinette nods and opens the Miracle Box to retrieve the Fox, the Horse, and the Tiger. She hands them to Nino, Kagami, and Alya respectively.

“I know the Fox won’t be seen,” she says apologetically when Alya glances wistfully at the orange necklace resting against Nino’s blue shirt. “But if on the slim chance he _doesn’t_ turn out to be Hawkmoth, I want Nino to have some experience with the Fox so that he can replace Rena Rouge.”

“I get it,” Alya sighs and slides on the panjas bracelet, causing Roaar to materialise in a flash of magenta light. “And if he is Hawkmoth?”

“Well, I _am_ the Guardian,” Marinette says slowly, trying not to grin at the way Alya’s eyes light up. “And since only Hawkmoth and Mayura know your identity for sure because no one who was brainwashed remembers anything…”

“You think Chloé remembers?” Nino says. Alya’s face darkens at the reminder of Miracle Queen.

“I don’t know. We did forcibly deakumatise her, rather than Hawkmoth recalling it, but…” Marinette shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know nearly enough about the Miraculouses. I’m kind of barely treading water here.”

“We should do this,” Kagami says. If she ever needs glasses in the future, there definitely won’t be any disappointment on Marinette’s part; not with how Kaalki’s glasses frame Kagami’s brown eyes and make her freckles pop. “Adrien’s waiting for us. And if we leave it too late, we run the risk of arousing suspicion.”

“Right, right,” Nino says. “Trixx, let’s pounce!”

“Roaar, stalk the shadows!”

“Kaalki, full gallop!”

Marinette grins at the sight of the three heroes before her, clad in orange, magenta, and brown. She takes Alya and Nino by the hands and nods at Kagami to open the portal that will deposit them around the corner from the Agreste mansion, and once they’ve leapt out onto the road, the three of them duck into an alleyway.

“Just picture what you wanna create,” Alya says once Nino’s unslung his flute. “And since it’s a glamour, you have to direct it specifically at Marinette instead of in the general area. Takes a bit more focus but I know you can do it. And hey…” She looks him up and down, from his fox-eared hood to his baggy jacket and pants and his knee-length boots. “You look _hot_ in my colours. I like.”

“Alya, stay focused,” Marinette chastises, though she can’t deny that if she saw Adrien in her colours – which she _had_ , now that she thinks about it, with Misterbug, and his butt hadn’t looked half-bad in spots, even if she’d denied it at the time because he was Chat Noir – _no, focus, Marinette! No Agreste booty!_

“Alright, here goes.” Nino plays a small tune on his flute and flicks the orange orb at Marinette with a, “Mirage!” When the light fades, Marinette looks down at herself and nearly throws up upon seeing that her usual clothes have been replaced with the dreaded black romper and red jacket. And her hair – her precious, silky hair – now it’s in _sausages_!

“Lord help me,” Marinette mumbles in Lila’s voice. Alya makes to slap her on the back, then remembers just in time that this will dissipate the illusion.

“You’ll live, girl,” she says. “Shadowcat!”

Before Marinette’s eyes, Alya ripples out of sight, until she can only be _maybe_ seen if one happens to squint in exactly the right direction. Even then, her chameleoned form shifts and ripples with the shadows around her, not allowing Marinette’s eyes to keep track of her for longer than a few seconds at best.

“Sweet,” Alya whispers. “And hey, I wonder if one of the guys who created Kitty Pryde had the Tiger.”

Marinette snorts but doesn’t say anything, lest she accidentally trap Alya in a conversation about superheroes and derail their whole plan. The two of them emerge from the alleyway and round the corner to approach the Agreste mansion, with Marinette emulating Lila’s strut as best as she can – _ew_ – and Alya following close behind, only detectable by Marinette’s sixth sense honed from her experience of being Ladybug.

“Miss Rossi,” says Nathalie’s signature dry voice once Marinette’s pressed the doorbell buzzer and the weird electronic eye’s come whirring out to verify who it is. “I wasn’t aware that you were expected today.”

Marinette gasps and clasps her hand to her chest as she’s seen Lila do before. “Oh, you didn’t know?” she cries. “I thought I was supposed to have a study date with Adrien today! I’m just really falling behind, you see, and considering that Marinette kept throwing herself at him today…well, I haven’t really gotten much done and I could _really_ use the help. And Mr Agreste approved of me as Adrien’s friend, didn’t he?”

Badmouthing herself – not that Nathalie knows – seems to do the trick. In a moment, the eye’s buzzing back into its socket and the massive gates swing open to admit her. Just before they can slam shut, she senses Alya slipping inside after her. The surprises pile on even more when Gabriel Agreste himself is waiting in the foyer to greet her once the front doors open.

“Miss Rossi,” he says coolly, his hands clasped behind his back as usual. Marinette lifts her hand to toy with one of her fake sausage fox tails, even if she can only feel air. God, this is _weird_.

“Oh! Hello, Mr Agreste!” she chirps. “I thought a surprise study date would make Adrien feel better. It was just _awful_ today, you see, watching Marinette Dupain-Cheng constantly try to –”

“Spare me your theatrics,” Gabriel says. “Did you enjoy your modelling gig last week?”

“Ooh, of course!” Marinette nods and clasps her hands to her chest again. “Thank you _ever_ so much for the opportunity, Mr Agreste! I’m really growing as a model because of you!”

“I’m glad to hear it. However…” Gabriel descends the stairs until he’s towering over Marinette, who has to resist the crushing urge to back away to avoid risking him dissipating the illusion by accident, because Lila Rossi doesn’t back down from anyone. “I haven’t seen much, ah…progress with our deal.”

“Our…deal?” Marinette says. Gabriel’s eyes flare.

“I do hope you haven’t lost what few brain cells I’ve seen you use,” he says acidly. “Yes, our deal, you silly child. Must I spell it out for you? You keep Marinette Dupain-Cheng away from Adrien, preferably getting her upset enough to be akumatised so that she _stays away_ , and I provide you unlimited access to my son. And right now, I’m not seeing much fulfilment on your end.”

It’s a wonder that Marinette doesn’t throw up right then and there. Her little sixth sense is telling her that yes, Gabriel Agreste _is_ Hawkmoth, because why else would he care about her being akumatised? Especially since she’s fought off Hawkmoth’s akumas before, so of course he’d take an interest in her! Is that why Lila had gotten her expelled? Because the only reason she hadn’t been akumatised then was Hawkmoth suddenly giving up for whatever reason!

“Y-Yes, of course,” Marinette says on shaky autopilot and fumbles for something that Lila would say about her to placate Gabriel. “I promise you’ll have your results. She’s just…annoyingly optimistic. Ever since I got her expelled, I haven’t managed to get her upset enough again, because she just seems to shake it off.”

Gabriel snorts. “Well, Miss Rossi, that certainly doesn’t reflect well on you, does it? At this rate, I might have to push _her_ and my son together and break her in that way, what with her annoyingly massive crush on him. I already have to deal with his relationship with Miss Tsurugi in a way that won’t alienate her mother and cost me valuable business. But I’m sure you wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Marinette swallows down the bile that’s rising in her throat. Honestly, she’s not even sure how Alya’s holding herself back right now, because if the roles had been reversed, she would have gone for Gabriel’s throat for daring to hurt Alya.

“U-Understood, Mr Agreste,” she croaks. It’s only then that Gabriel smiles, if it can even be called that. Sure, his lips quirk upwards, but…there’s nothing in them. He looks more like a predator about to pounce on a particularly juicy piece of prey.

“I’m glad we see eye-to-eye, Miss Rossi,” Gabriel says. “Adrien’s upstairs in his room. Please do keep the commotion down to a minimum.”

Marinette nods and hurries to get the hell out of there, tearing through the labyrinth of hallways until she finally arrives at Adrien’s room. She doesn’t even knock on the door; she just bursts in, scaring Adrien into falling off his bed, and his look of disgust upon seeing Lila Rossi lasts only for as long as it takes for him to take in the look on her face.

“Marinette?” He rushes to her side and grabs her by the biceps, causing the illusion of Lila to vanish with faint flute music. Marinette just claps a hand over her mouth and rushes in the direction of Adrien’s bathroom, her stomach rolling, and she heaves and empties its contents right into the expensive porcelain bowl of Adrien’s toilet.

Gross. She’s always hated vomiting so, so much. Pain? Sure, keep tossing it at her and she’ll groan and deal with it. She gets enough of it as Ladybug. But nausea and vomiting? Marinette would rather die than have to constantly deal with it. There’s no worse feeling than your body actively rebelling against you in such a painful and disgusting manner. She’s vaguely aware of someone brushing the hair back from her forehead, murmuring soothingly, but she can’t focus enough to discern who it is and what they’re saying until finally, at long last, her heaving and retching die down.

“Eww,” she rasps, pushing herself onto her shaky feet to flush the toilet. She gags again when she runs her tongue over her teeth and cops the aftertaste, so the mystery person immediately guides her to the sink and pushes a bottle of green mouthwash towards her. Judging by the paleness of the hand, her mystery hero is Adrien, and this is confirmed when she tips her head back to take a swig of mouthwash and she catches a glimpse of golden hair in her peripheral vision.

“Well,” Adrien says once she’s gargled and spit, then wiped her mouth on a fluffy white towel nearby. “That was a better reaction than me. At least you just threw up. I up and had a panic attack and fainted.”

“I’m sorry for all the times I was ever a creepy stalker,” Marinette croaks as they leave the bathroom. “I promise I’ll never steal your phone to delete an embarrassing voicemail again, or try to spy on you in your room because of Lila, or –”

“I’d really rather we go over this when we’re both in the right frame of mind, yeah?” Adrien says. He stops and clasps her by the shoulders and squeezes, providing the little extra grounding she needs after what she’d just learned. “Considering that Fa – that Hawkmoth’s using us both like chess pieces, that’s the least of our worries.”

“He said – he said –” Marinette’s eyes sting. “I can’t believe – he’d actually support us getting together just to b-break us up…just to turn _me_ into an akuma…but why me? He can’t know I’m Ladybug!”

“I know why.” Adrien pulls her in close, wraps his arms around her, and says, “Because you’re one of the strongest, kindest, _best_ people around. People like you are like poison to people like Lila and Fa – Hawkmoth. They can’t understand people like you, so they lash out and try to tear you down. If our everyday Ladybug was an akuma…well, Paris wouldn’t stand a chance. But that won’t happen because you have me.”

“And me.” Alya wraps her arms around Marinette as well, her arms now bare rather than clad in magenta material.

“Me too, dude.” Wait, when did Nino get here?

“And you have me as well.” Kagami’s voice tops it off. Marinette blinks.

“Um – how –”

“I told Kagami to get here and bring Nino,” Alya says. “Figured you could do with the support after what we learned. And god, I’m gonna _kill_ that guy – no, wait, death is _too good_ for him –”

“Uh, Al, as much as I wanna stab him and dump him in a ditch somewhere,” Nino says, “you’re kinda getting a bit scary.”

Alya huffs in Marinette’s ear but falls silent and keeps up the group hug. It feels like an eternity before the five of them untangle themselves from each other but honestly, with how dazed Marinette’s been, it could have just been a few minutes.

“Thanks, guys,” Marinette mumbles. Alya smiles and nudges her.

“Of course,” she says. “Nino and I might not want to get in on your little love polygon but we’re still your best friends. We’ll always have your back.”

“It just means that this all ends tonight,” Kagami says, thumping her fist into her palm. “We need to get that Miraculous away from him. Not only can Ladybug _not_ be allowed to be akumatised, but I’d throw myself into the Seine before I let Marinette or Adrien experience what it’s like to be akumatised.”

“You remember it?” Adrien says as Alya and Nino nod in agreement.

“Bits and pieces, dude,” Nino grimaces. “It’s like a nightmare. You wake up and you feel like shit, but you don’t remember everything that happened. Then you have weird dreams about it and you never know whether it actually happened or your brain’s just messing with you. Did I really drop you guys from, like, five hundred feet?”

“We’ve had worse,” Marinette says with a weak smile. “But Kagami’s right: we can’t allow this to go on any longer. It ends tonight.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> I thought I slipped a line in the last chapter but I apparently totally flaked, so to clarify: Alya was in fact recording invisibly.
> 
> Thanks to SalamanderGoo, BenRG, Zorua_the_Adorable, MythGirl02, phantombullets240, Keyseeker, writingish1210, fabulously_frenzied, DivineDemonDragon, Bbgirl3191, naresar, Mokusei no Miko (phoenixdaisy), ghostlyhamburger, Callmedale, Crisis21, NovaThePirate, Lexysama and SailorMew4 for your comments :)

“Okay, remember the plan,” Ladybug says, pacing her room in front of Alya and Nino. “Alya, you need to get video proof of Hawkmoth. Do that and you’ll have everything you need for the Ladyblog. Nino, you have to get the Peacock – and you _can’t let_ Nathalie get to it first, or we’ll have a sentimonster to deal with! The goal is to get in and out, understood? _No_ drawn-out battles!”

She’s keenly aware that this is the nth time she’s rehashed the plan for Alya and Nino but considering the ladybugs that are jittering around in her stomach and getting clogged in her throat, she’s sure she could be forgiven. Alya and Nino nod, clad in the Tiger’s magenta and the Dragon’s red, black, and gold respectively.

“Understood, Ladybug,” Alya says gravely.

“And you need temporary names,” Ladybug says. “I know that you don’t want to grow attached to your new transformations, but I can’t call you Alya and Nino when we’re in there.”

“Just go with Tigresse and Redfang then, dude,” says Nino – Redfang – after a moment of silent conversation with his girlfriend. “Quick and simple. Trixx and Longg are cool but I can’t wait to be Carapace again. No offence, dude.”

Trixx just shrugs from where he’s perched on Ladybug’s shoulder, next to the fox necklace around Ladybug’s neck. “It’s okay. I miss my kit. Orange suits her way better than magenta.”

“Yeah,” Tigresse says. “Roaar’s cool but she’s no Trixx.”

“Tigresse and Redfang. Right.” Ladybug swipes open her yo-yo and dials the Horse, and she’s greeted with Kagami’s brown-masked face after only two rings. “We’re ready. Are you sure you can open a portal remotely, or do you need to come here?”

“I’m sure,” Kagami says. “I’d rather not leave in case my mother comes to check in on me. But I’ll have my phone with me, so you can call me even when I transform back. Give me a moment.” She places her horseshoe down on her bed, giving Ladybug a fuzzy view of her ceiling, and slides to her feet. After a few seconds, there’s a faint, “Voyage!” and a crackling blue portal opens in front of Ladybug, showing Adrien leaping out of his bed and calling on his Chat Noir transformation as soon as it appears.

“Right.” Ladybug squares her shoulders, ignores her fluttering stomach, and walks straight through the portal, followed by Tigresse and Redfang. Chat Noir envelops her in a quick hug as soon as her spotted feet land on his shiny wooden floor, and she takes a moment to bury her face in the crook of his neck and inhale the scent of sweat and musky earth, just like whenever she’s hugged Adrien; thank god for Miraculous identity magic, because otherwise she’d feel like the world’s biggest dumdum for not figuring out that her crush was her superhero partner, considering how… _intense_ her feelings for him have gotten in the past.

“Thanks for letting me be the one to sting him,” Chat Noir says with a twisted little grin once Ladybug’s stepped back and handed him the Bee comb. Pollen appears in a flash of golden light and bows to Chat Noir as he slides the comb into his messy hair.

“At your service, my king,” Pollen says.

“Still as stuffy as always, honeybun,” Trixx teases. Pollen shoots him a glare that’s somehow regal and dignified despite its venom.

“I’m not your king,” Chat Noir says. “This is a one-off. Actually, I don’t even know who your new holder’ll be. Kagami, maybe, if she’s not too attached to Longg?”

“She would make a good Bee,” Ladybug agrees. “But we don’t have time for that. Where is everyone else in the house?”

“My bodyguard’s in his room,” Chat Noir says immediately. “I took a risk and, um…told him who I am. He agreed he wouldn’t get in our way, so he won’t come running no matter how much sound we make, but that means he also won’t be able to help us. Considering that he’s got, like, ten figurines of me, I’d hope he’d be on our side,” he adds under his breath. Ladybug snorts.

“Yeah, okay, I doubt he’ll betray us,” she says. She wants to be annoyed that Chat Noir had just up and told someone his identity, but he’s her partner and if he says he can trust someone enough to keep the secret, well, she has to trust him enough to let him handle it. “And the others?”

“Nathalie’s in her office and Fa – Hawkmoth’s retired for the night. I hoped Nathalie would go home but, well…she’s been spending more and more time here since Heroes’ Day. Now I know it’s because she’s Mayura and she and Hawkmoth have this weird _thing_ going on.”

“Ugh, gross.” Tigresse wrinkles her nose, which only makes her look adorable considering that it’s underneath the black feline nose of her magenta mask. Chat Noir, meanwhile, looks like he’s trying to fight back a gag. Had he seen something during one of his Aspik cycles? “I don’t even want to know what supervillains get up to. You ready, babe?”

“Of course.” Redfang gives her a quick kiss and then crosses over to Adrien’s light switch and hisses, “Thunder Dragon!” Once he’s turned into a bolt of electricity, he zips into the light switch and the crackling that accompanies his elemental transformation fades with him.

“Let’s do this, kitty cat.” Ladybug clasps her hands. “Tikki, Trixx, unify!”

“Plagg, Pollen, unify!” Chat Noir echoes. His new merged outfit is pretty much identical to his Chat Noir outfit, only with a black-striped yellow belly, gloves, and boots, a yellow and black tail that now looks a lot like a long stinger, black strands in his golden hair, and a trompo around his waist rather than a lyre. Ladyfox’s suit, on the other hand, has turned as orange as the Fox, while a white patch has formed on her belly, her arms and legs are black up to her elbows and knees, she has a wide fox tail around her waist under her yo-yo, and her black spots remain.

“Well, kitty, you look pawsitively bee-autiful,” Ladyfox purrs. Abeille Noir’s cheeks flush red.

“You’re one to talk, foxy bug,” he shoots back. Tigresse clears her throat.

“Can we get on with this before I throw up?” she says. “Because now that I know that you two are my best friends, I don’t know whether to cheer you on or force you to stop.”

“Fine, fine,” Abeille Noir grumbles. “I’ll remember this next time you’re making out with Nino. Let’s go.”

Thankfully, unlike Multimouse and Aspik’s failed adventure, there’s no one out in the halls this time; considering that it’s pretty much midnight, Ladyfox hadn’t really been expecting anyone, but overconfidence has never served anybody well, so it’s better to be wary in cases like this. Tigresse summons her invisibility with a whisper before they set off through the dark maze of hallways, deep into a wing of the mansion where Ladyfox has never gone before. Abeille Noir probably hasn’t been here too often either, if the growing apprehension on his face as they plunge deeper into the depths of the mansion is any indication.

“Hey.” Ladyfox grabs his yellow-gloved hand. “It’ll be okay. You’ve got me and Tigresse right here with you.”

Abeille Noir swallows and shoots her a small grin before pausing in front of a door and closing his eyes. With a deep breath, he opens them and reaches out to grasp the doorknob, then turns it and pushes the door open ever so slowly, pausing frequently to avoid any squeaking. Ladyfox probably has about ten panic attacks in the time it takes for Abeille Noir to get the door fully open, but there’s thankfully no sound of alarm from within the room, so they seem to be undetected…for now.

Also, thankfully, Gabriel Agreste is wearing clothes. He doesn’t seem the type to sleep in the nude or at least shirtless but, well, considering that he’s ninety-nine percent certainly Hawkmoth and he’s definitely been plotting to get her akumatised and sell Adrien off to Lila, there’s a lot that Ladyfox doesn’t know about him. And sure enough, once they’re close enough that they can touch him – not that they would if they could help it – there’s a small oval brooch on his nightshirt, gleaming in the sliver of moonlight streaming through the closed curtains. Abeille Noir sucks in a deep breath that thankfully doesn’t wake Gabriel. Now they just have to get the brooch off and then they’ll be home free; they can only hope that Gabriel doesn’t expect anyone to come into his room at midnight and steal his magic jewellery, especially not a team of superheroes.

But when Gabriel suddenly awakens and clamps his hand around Ladyfox’s wrist right as she’s got a grip on the brooch, she can’t help but let out a small squeal and almost crash backwards into Tigresse and Abeille Noir, who also give twin shrieks. Ladyfox tries to back away, but Gabriel has all the leverage once he’s straightened up and grabbed her by the throat, and he forces her down onto the dishevelled blankets with wild eyes.

“You really thought I wouldn’t order my kwami to wake me at the first sign of danger?” Gabriel growls. “Nooroo, dark wings rise!” Now it’s Hawkmoth who’s got her pinned to the bed, grasping furiously for her earrings…but then he suddenly freezes and turns into nothing but dead weight that Ladyfox quickly kicks off her.

“Are you okay, milady?” Abeille Noir says frantically as a trembling Ladyfox snatches the brooch off Hawkmoth’s shirt. He turns back into Gabriel Agreste in a flash of purple light, accompanied by a purple kwami with butterfly wings who lets out a gasp and shoots for Abeille Noir, burying themselves in his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I should’ve Venomed him sooner instead of panicking –”

“It’s okay, kitty. Really.” Ladyfox lets him tug her in for a tight hug. “We all panicked. I hadn’t even expected that he’d get Nooroo to warn him if someone tried to take the brooch. Tigresse, you can stop filming.”

“Oh, thank you, Master Adrien!” Nooroo cries into Abeille Noir’s suit. Abeille Noir’s hands instinctively rise to cover the tiny butterfly kwami. “I’m so sorry – I never wanted to do any of what I’ve done, and I didn’t want to warn him, but he ordered me to do so, and now I’ve scared Ladybug –”

“Nooroo, it’s fine. Really,” Ladyfox says soothingly. “It was just a fright. And you couldn’t help doing what you were told.”

“Wait, how do you know who I am?” Abeille Noir pulls Nooroo away and cups him gently. “You’ve known all this time?”

“Of course,” Nooroo says. “I was ordered to hide my presence from everyone except for Master Gabriel and Nathalie but Plagg wasn’t under any such instructions. It wasn’t hard for me to detect him, even if I was forbidden from giving him any sign that I was there.”

“And you didn’t tell Hawkmoth?” Abeille Noir says. “I didn’t think you could disobey him.”

“I didn’t disobey him,” Nooroo says with a shaky little shrug. “But he never directly asked if I knew you were Chat Noir. He’s asked for my thoughts and he even said that he suspected you of being Chat Noir but so long as he didn’t give me a direct order, I didn’t have to tell him.”

“Okay, as sweet as this all is,” says Tigresse, “I’m gonna time out soon and that Venom won’t last forever.”

“Right. Right.” Ladyfox tucks the Butterfly Miraculous into her yo-yo and Nooroo vanishes with it. “Let’s just hope that Redfang got the Peacock.”

They fall into the post-adrenaline trap of taking much less care on their way back to Adrien’s room, not bothering to keep the sounds of their footsteps and breathing down, so it’s no wonder that around the corner from Adrien’s room, they’re forced to skid to a halt and hold their breaths to avoid being detected by Nathalie, whose heels clack against the expensive floor as she makes her way down the hall.

“Adrien? I thought I heard something.” She raps on Adrien’s door and frowns when there’s no answer. “Adrien?”

“Do something, milady!” Abeille Noir hisses in Ladyfox’s ear. She immediately unslings her flute and frowns, waiting for Nathalie to knock on the door again so that she can play her flute and summon her Mirage without being heard. A moment later, there’s a massive _crash_ somewhere else in the mansion, and Nathalie takes off running immediately in the opposite direction. Huh. She may be evil but Ladyfox can’t help but envy her ability to run in heels like that.

“Nice thinking, Ladybug!” Tigresse says as they dart for Adrien’s room and shove the door shut behind them. Nino’s on his feet next to the white couch, his eyes wide, with Longg hovering next to him.

“You’re okay!” he says. “I heard the crash and I thought – shit, I thought you guys got caught –”

“It’d take more than an old, crusty white man to take us down, babe,” Tigresse grins and lets her transformation fade before kissing Nino. “You got the Peacock?”

In response, Nino holds out a pin that’s shaped like a peacock tail. “You gotta make her shut up!” he says. “I can’t take any more of it!”

“Any more of what?” Abeille Noir says. “Pollen, divide. Claws in.”

In response, a small blue thing comes whizzing from Adrien’s bathroom and careens around the room, squealing. “Woohoo!” it cries. “A midnight heist! Oh, the drama! The betrayal of father and son!”

“For the last time, Duusu, shut the hell up!” Nino hisses. “You’re gonna get us caught!”

Duusu just giggles and zooms over to bop Plagg on the nose. “Plagg! It’s been so long! You’re it!” she trills and darts away. Plagg facepalms.

“Don’t worry, she’s always been like that,” he says. “Tikki reckons I’m an angel compared to her.”

“Yeah, I can see why,” Adrien says, his eyes glued on Duusu and her mad flight. Ladyfox just sighs.

“Trixx, divide. Spots off. You’ll be okay, Adrien?”

Adrien nods. “I’ll just pretend that I heard a crashing sound that woke me up and my bodyguard told me to stay in my room. He’ll back me up. But you guys should go before we push our luck. And I…” He runs a hand through his messy golden hair. “I need to process the fact that I really am living in the same house as Hawkmoth.”

Marinette grimaces. “I promise we’ll all meet up tomorrow and sort through this together,” she says. “We’ll skip school if we have to. Now that Hawkmoth’s defeated, I think I’ll be okay telling my parents who I am if it means I can be there to have your back.”

“Same here, dude,” Nino says. “No way we’re gonna let you deal with it alone. I just texted Kagami, so she should have the portal ready right –” A crackling blue portal opens right in front of them. “– now.”

Adrien gives Marinette a quick hug and then steps back with a twisted mouth. “See you tomorrow, bugaboo,” he says, sliding the Bee comb out of his hand and handing it to her. “You too, Alya and Nino. And…thanks. For everything. For having my back. For not turning on me because I’m related to Hawkmoth. I’ll text Kagami and thank her too.”

“Of course,” Alya says with a small smile. “You’re our best friend. See you tomorrow, sunshine boy.”

With one last smile and wave, Marinette ducks through the portal and lands back into her room, followed by Alya and Nino. While Alya calls Kagami to fill her in on the mission, Marinette fetches the Miracle Box and opens it up so that she can deposit the Fox, Bee, Peacock and Butterfly where they belong, followed by the Dragon and Tiger when Nino passes them to her. Is the Peacock still broken? It hadn’t malfunctioned at all when they’d touched it, but she’s not sure what knowledge Hawkmoth had wrangled out of Master Fu during that dreadful day, or even if it malfunctions in its disguised form. Maybe he’d fixed it. Maybe it’s still broken. She’ll just have to wait and ask Nooroo and Duusu after a good night’s sleep.

“Well, we’d better get going,” Alya says once she’s hung up, hugging Marinette. “We’ll spin some tale to Lila about losing track of time and making out and stuff. She’ll eat it up, especially after the interview she gave us today. And we’ll tell our parents that we were on some secret mission for Ladybug, so they don’t get mad at us for ditching the kids and being out so late. They don’t need the details, at least till I’ve posted on the Ladyblog.”

“Thanks for everything, Alya,” Marinette says into Alya’s hair. “You too, Nino.”

Nino joins the hug and slaps Marinette on the back. “What are best friends for, dude?” he says. “No one fucks with my bro and gets away with it.”

Once Alya and Nino are gone, Marinette climbs up the ladder to her bed and faceplants onto her pillow, not even bothering to change into her pyjamas. Then she proceeds to scream for the next half hour, reassured with the knowledge that it’s muffled and won’t be heard by her parents, so that she’s not an emotional mess when she transforms and heads to the police station. No way is she leaving her kitty in that house for longer than necessary, nor is she giving Gabriel and Nathalie the chance to weasel out of being caught and punished for everything they’ve done to Paris, even if it means that she has to sacrifice her sleep for that night. But with Hawkmoth and Mayura defeated, hopefully it’s the last time she’ll have to lose sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who’s enjoyed this fic! It was just a little something I had to get out because of this whole quarantine crap…and then I misplaced my brain cell and picked my presentation topics with the same due week as my essays, so this was a welcome break from four assessments at once.
> 
> Because I got a few queries about Gabriel hearing the conversation after he was Venomed and realising that Adrien is Chat: considering that the driver in 'Queen Wasp' was delirious and didn't know what the heck was going on, I see Venom as freezing all the senses and basically making you black out. So no, he doesn't have a clue what happened after he was Venomed.
> 
> Also, you'll notice that I don't actually mention Emilie at all. That's because the investigation's still ongoing and they'd have to know to look behind the painting, let alone the combination to it, and they won't have that without Gabriel telling them or without some good tech if they did suspect it in the first place. Unlike in 'Hold Me', it's only been a few days since the takedown, not a few weeks, and Adrien doesn't have the knowledge about Emilie and the secret lair here that he did in 'Hold Me' when Gabriel physically showed him, so he can't go and tell any of the authorities. Just figured I'd throw that in before people start asking XD
> 
> Thanks to BenRG, Callmedale, phantombullets240, MythGirl02, Mokusei no Miko (phoenixdaisy), ghostlyhamburger, DivineDemonDragon, DigitalMagpie, Keyseeker, Bbgirl3191, Samiza, LovingAlex, ZoeyTheWeeb, Crisis21, Bluejay1425, naresar, Kitsu97, AliceKat and OnceABlueMoon for your comments :)

“I can’t believe it!” Alya throws her hands up and almost steps onto the road in front of a speeding car, which honks furiously at her as it passes. “All that evidence against Lila and you’re not letting me air it?”

“Hawkmoth is fair game,” Marinette says. “And they’ll probably use the footage in court to prove that he was grooming an underage girl. But if you air that footage, you’re giving her a free ticket out. She’ll have solid proof that she was being manipulated by Mr Agreste. And honestly…Adrien’s right. Sure, we can expose her over the internet, but what then? It follows her everywhere she goes. She’s got no chance of ever growing past this evil, self-absorbed phase that she’s in because it’ll haunt her for the rest of her life.”

“That’s surprisingly mature for someone whose life was almost ruined by said phase,” Alya mutters.

“You think I’m happy about this?” Marinette says. “I want nothing more than to throw all her lies in her face and cackle like a witch about it. But I don’t want to sink to that kind of person. Being her for five minutes, even though it was an illusion…it made me pity her. She’ll do anything for her fifteen minutes of fame, even if she has to make deals with creepy old men who try to intimidate her, and she’ll squash anyone who gets in her way. And honestly? That’s just sad. I’m the one with true friends. I’m the one who’ll still be standing when the dust settles. Not her. I told her I had faith in my friends and look where we ended up.”

Alya reaches over and rests the back of her hand on Marinette’s forehead. “Are you sure we got the Butterfly and Peacock on Wednesday night?” she says. “You sure there’s not an akuma that’s making you say this stuff? Or that you’re not a sentimonster?”

“Oh, ha, ha,” Marinette says, rolling her eyes. “And besides, the police may or may not have told Ladybug that they were arresting Lila yesterday for colluding with a terrorist, since there’s enough doubt in the footage of me as her to at least claim that she had a clue that he was Hawkmoth. And even though she’ll most likely wriggle her way out of it because that proof’s not a hundred percent solid, at least she won’t be playing everyone like a puppet anymore. There’ll be just enough doubt that they’ll start to question her and then her lies will just…fall. And it’ll kill her more to have no attention than to even have bad attention.”

Alya blinks at her. “No, seriously, who are you and what have you done with Marinette? I know there’s no way you’d come up with that all by yourself.”

“Okay, fine!” Marinette crosses her arms. “Tikki talked me down from going ballistic last night, and Adrien, Kagami, and I had a good talk about what to do about her.”

“I knew it!” Alya says, jabbing Marinette in the chest. “That’s way more complex than your single brain cell can handle!”

“ _Excuse me_?” Marinette splutters. “How dare you? I’m the saviour of Paris! You have my posters in your room!”

“And I’m also your best friend, so I’m allowed to ruthlessly roast you,” Alya says smugly. “Too bad, so sad.”

Sure enough, as Marinette had predicted, Lila’s at school today and is holding court in the classroom, strategically sobbing into her hands when Marinette and Alya enter the room.

“Oh, Marinette! Alya! I’m so glad you’re here!” Lila cries. “Marinette, I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done to you! I never wanted to hurt you but, well, Mr Agreste took advantage of my lying disorder and our natural rivalry and he – he –” She sniffles and blows her nose, and Marinette resists the incredibly strong urge to roll her eyes at the theatrics. “He _manipulated_ me! He promised me modelling contracts and favours and that I could spend time with Adrien, since I had a crush on him, and – and oh my gosh, I feel so _dirty_!”

“It’s okay, Lila,” Rose says soothingly, patting her on the back. “He took advantage of you. It’s nothing to be ashamed of!”

“I always knew that Mr Agreste was a dirty old man,” Alix growls. “On top of being a shitty father and a supervillain!”

“I mean, we were all used by him as akumas,” Chloé scoffs, delicately touching up her mascara in her compact mirror. “You’re nothing special, Rossi. And Adrikins is staying at _my_ hotel now, so which of us ended up winning, hmm?”

“Well, we might never be friends, but I forgive you for everything you’ve done,” Marinette says as everyone glares at Chloé. Kind of rich of Chloé to say that, considering what she’d done as Miracle Queen, but no one actually remembers that, so…oh well. “And I’m… _sorry_ for the way I treated you. I should have believed you about your disabilities even if you didn’t have that lying disorder.”

As much as it pains her to do so, this apology is necessary. As Tikki and Adrien had pointed out, their classmates had in fact been in the right to believe Lila about her disabilities instead of forcing her to prove every little thing, and Marinette had wilted when Tikki had asked her to remember how she’s felt whenever anyone’s doubted her claim of being autistic because she “seems normal enough” and demanded that she provide evidence. But Marinette’s not apologising for or excusing Lila’s evil manipulations and every other lie of hers, especially the ones that got her expelled, and Tikki and Adrien had thankfully taken her side on that point.

“Oh, of course I forgive you!” Lila says dramatically. “And I agree! Even if we never end up being friends, I’d much rather be on friendly terms than unfriendly!”

“So, what happens now?” Sabrina says. “My father told me that you were arrested yesterday!”

Lila’s face falls. “Oh, yes, they had to arrest me for colluding with a terrorist, but it’s all a formality and I’m sure to be let off in the trial! Especially since their only evidence is some footage of me talking to Mr Agreste that’s clearly doctored, since I’ve got an airtight alibi, and Alya’s interview of me that she had to get as more evidence against him! Ladybug had to summon an illusion of me to trick Mr Agreste into confessing, of course, and I was so scared that he would take it out on me if our plan failed, but I’m fully prepared to give media statements, even if Ladybug can’t confirm or deny that we were working together for my safety…”

Marinette’s eye twitches as Lila spins some tale about the grand plan that she’d been part of to take down Gabriel Agreste. But, to her surprise, their classmates aren’t falling over themselves to ooh and ahh at her story. They’re not calling her out, of course, but they’re just…losing interest the longer she talks about herself. Huh. That’s never happened before.

“What’s going on?” Marinette turns to whisper to Ivan. “You don’t believe her?”

Ivan shrugs. “She’s got a lying disorder. She can’t help it. Not gonna be mean for something she can’t help but…yeah, I don’t believe Ladybug would use a civilian like that.”

“I pity her, honestly,” Nathaniel pipes up from behind Ivan. “But I’m also kind of wondering what else she’s lied about, especially if Mr Agreste made her. Even if she wasn’t doing it to screw us over…she was _still_ lying to us.”

Marinette could sing to the heavens. Finally, someone’s using their brain! It might not be immediate, but Lila’s downfall is just around the corner, and honestly? Marinette had been telling the truth earlier; all she can feel right now is pity for when Lila’s eventually left alone, surrounded by nothing but her lies as her empire crumbles around her. And honestly, maybe fading into obscurity like that is a worse punishment for Lila than being targeted and called out, since that would still be giving her the attention that she craves. But this? This is _nothing_.

Although Marinette keeps an absent eye on the door for Adrien’s entrance, she’s not expecting to see him, since she already knows that he’s not coming to school today as well. Not that she can blame him, really, after the whole “Hawkmoth exposed” thing that Alya had posted on the Ladyblog that’s generated so much traffic that poor Alya can’t even check up on it since it keeps crashing (much to her gleeful annoyance). Marinette doesn’t _think_ that anyone will accuse him of being in league with Hawkmoth but, well, it’s inevitable that there’ll be some dicks who pull the whole “like father, like son” crap, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to expose himself to that.

However, that doesn’t stop her from making a beeline for Le Grand Paris after school, where Adrien and his bodyguard are staying temporarily since the mansion’s now considered a crime scene. It’s so…weird. Hawkmoth and Mayura have been taken down and Adrien’s life has been utterly turned on its head and shaken some more, yet the sun still casts its weak rays down on Marinette’s back. The pigeons still coo and rustle their wings, with Mr Ramier no doubt nearby. The cars still zoom past, leaving acrid trails in their wake. The world just…keeps on keeping on, with no regard to the massive shock that’s turned people’s lives upside-down. All these people – these animals – they won’t know, they won’t _care_ , what she and her friends have had to go through, being used like pawns in a chess game and giving up _so much_ for the greater good, in ways that will stay with them forever –

“Marinette!” Warm hands grab her by the shoulders and a pair of brown eyes root her to the spot, grounding her so that she doesn’t float away from everything that’s currently assaulting her brain. She lets out a shuddering gasp and slumps forward, allowing the person to fully embrace her, and she buries her nose in the damp skin of their neck and inhales sweat and sharp deodorant, along with the faintest traces of what smells like some kind of incense.

“Kagami,” she croaks and digs her fingers into the back of Kagami’s blazer. “Why? What did Adrien do to deserve this? What did _we_ do to deserve this? Lila – Mr Agreste – am I really that bad that they teamed up to break me –”

“What they did to you isn’t a punishment for anything,” Kagami says, firm but soft at the same time. “They colluded like that because they’re awful people.”

“But the way I treated you and – and stalked Adrien – I stole his phone, I followed him around, I tried to sabotage you with Chloé at the movie event because I was jealous – it’s been bothering me but I didn’t – it didn’t hit – not until now, when I realised how Mr Agreste and Lila treated him like – like a toy –”

“Marinette –”

“Why do you even like me? Why does _Adrien_ like me? He said I’m good but I’m _not_. I’ve done _bad_ things and it’s like – everyone acts like me being Ladybug makes me a saint but I’m _not_ , I’m just a teenage girl and I can’t _cope_ , I can’t _do this_ –”

“Yes, you can.” Kagami undoes Marinette’s pigtails so that she can run her fingers through Marinette’s hair, stroking it in a rhythmic pattern that hypnotises Marinette into a blurry trance. “Hawkmoth and Mayura are dealt with. I’m here to talk to Adrien, just as you are, and we’ll figure it out, okay? We always will. And I can’t say that I haven’t acted jealously before either, because I definitely clung to Adrien to make a point to you and Chloé at the movie premiere, so you’re not a bad person just because you did a few bad things. And your flaws don’t mean that Adrien was lying when he said that you’re a brilliant girl. I wouldn’t have feelings for you if you were anything less than extraordinary. Why do you think I like Adrien?”

“God – I’m a mess –”

“It’s okay. I moved us to an alleyway, so no one will see. And now that there aren’t any more akumas, you deserve this, Marinette. It’s okay.”

Dimly, Marinette registers her legs caving underneath her as she sobs into Kagami’s shoulder and clutches fistfuls of the other girl’s blazer, finally exorcising everything she’s had to keep bottled up for fear of akumatisation, because Kagami’s right: now that there aren’t any akumas, there’s no threat for expressing her emotions, and it’s _so good_ to be able to just break down like this, rather than having to suppress everything and paste on a smile for the greater good. She almost jumps out of her skin when someone leans against her back and wraps their arms around her from behind, but then she gets a whiff of their musky, earthy smell and she melts into their embrace because it’s _Adrien_ ; it’s her _kitty_ , and he’ll always be there for her no matter what.

“Wow, you weren’t lying when you said she was a mess,” Adrien murmurs, his voice distorted as though they’re underwater. “What brought it on?”

“I don’t know what triggered it, but I believe the underlying cause is not being able to express any of this with Hawkmoth around. She just…exploded.”

The voices turn to a dull buzz after that as Marinette gasps in air and her tears finally start to die down. The next time she’s able to discern individual words, it’s Adrien talking to her as she finally stops crying and just slumps against Kagami with her eyes closed and her limbs like lead weights.

“It’s okay, Marinette,” he’s saying. “I forgive you for stealing my phone and following me and Lila home and everything else. And Kagami forgives you for trying to embarrass her.”

“But why?” Marinette croaks. “It’s not normal. _I’m_ not normal. Why don’t you h-hate me? I’m a _creep_.”

“After what Hawkmoth and Lila did, you still think you’re a creep?” Adrien says. He gently pulls her back, detaching her from Kagami, and he pulls her into his lap and tangles his fingers in her hair, his warm breath ghosting across the top of her head. Through her blurry eyes, Marinette sees Kagami snuggling up to Adrien’s side and pulling Marinette’s legs into her lap while she rests her head on Adrien’s shoulder. “I said I forgive you, bugaboo, not that you didn’t do anything wrong. So, you know, that means that I know you messed up and I’m okay with it. It’s not like I’ve never made mistakes either.”

Somehow, it’s the admission that yeah, she’d screwed up, but he forgives her for it, that manages to calm Marinette down the rest of the way; if he’d tried to excuse her actions and brush them off as her never doing anything wrong, that probably would’ve just brought on a fresh emotional meltdown. She sags against Adrien and closes her eyes, allowing the last of her meltdown to seep out of her and into the world around them, and when Kagami shifts under her legs, she acts purely on instinct and wraps her legs around Kagami to pull her closer.

“Looks like Ladybug never skipped leg day,” Adrien says when Marinette pulls Kagami to lean back against her. Although Marinette can’t see him, she just _knows_ that he’s wearing that shit-eating grin that Chat Noir always has, so she punishes him by elbowing him gently in the gut. “Meowch!”

“So, I’m guessing this means we’re…a thing?” Marinette says. Her voice cracks halfway through her sentence, like she’s a teenage boy in the middle of puberty, but thankfully, neither person around her calls her out on it.

“I’m happy with that if we take it slow and don’t jump straight into the deep end,” Adrien says. “It’s pretty lonely in the hotel, but hopefully Gorilla or Nino’s mother gets custody of me soon. I don’t know who they’re leaning towards. And after what just happened…well, if _both_ of you want to give me kitty cuddles, I won’t say no. And, uh…I have to confess. One of the times I messed up as Aspik was because I…couldn’t stop staring at Multimouse’s butt. So, uh, I think that beats out any creepy things you’ve done.”

The shock of hearing Adrien confess to looking at her butt like he’s a little kitten confessing to being naughty jolts a laugh out of Marinette, and then she’s sagging against Adrien in a fit of piercing laughter as tears roll down her face. Alya had been right the other night. What the hell is wrong with them? How did they end up in a two-person love square that turned into a tangled polygon when Kagami had entered the room?

“Then it’s official.” Kagami laces her fingers with a hysterical Marinette’s and rests their hands on her stomach. “I have a tentative boyfriend and a girlfriend. But Adrien has a moral obligation to punch anyone who makes any disgusting remarks about him having “two girls”.”

“You act like I wasn’t gonna do that anyway,” Adrien grumbles. “I’ll also throw in an additional punch if they ask you two to make out with each other.”

“Our hero,” Marinette tries to say dryly, but the effect is ruined when she chokes it out in the middle of the hiccups of her dying laughter. “Whatever would we do without you?”

“Well, your life would be –”

“No, wait, don’t finish that sentence. I know you’ll make a pun out of it somehow and then I’ll be forced to punch you for it.”

“Aww,” Adrien whines, while Kagami snorts. “But that’s half my charm!”

“Getting punched? I agree,” Kagami says innocently. Adrien whines again and Marinette can’t help but laugh again and realise that, while navigating the territory of having two partners at the same time won’t be easy, the extra support is probably exactly what she needs right now. With her two partners and her two best friends by her side, there’s nothing the five of them can’t do; especially with no more supervillain terrorising Paris and no more attention-seeking teenage girl trying to ruin everyone else’s lives.

It really hadn’t been a good look for either of them after all.


End file.
